Doc's Dad Passes

November 5, 2007

TORONTO - Grady Alexander Rivers, the father of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, died peacefully in Chicago yesterday morning, according to team spokesman Jeff Twiss.

Grady Rivers was 76 and had experienced some health concerns in recent months. Funeral arrangements are expected to be finalized today. Doc Rivers flew to his hometown of Chicago from Toronto yesterday to be with his family.

Associate head coach Tom Thibodeau and assistant Armond Hill coached in Rivers's place during Boston's 98-95 victory over Toronto at Air Canada Centre. It is uncertain when Rivers will return. He received credit for the win and is 2-0 for the first time in his tenure in Boston.

"This win here is dedicated to Doc and his family," forward Kevin Garnett said. "My heart goes out to him. You guys, please, if you can, put him in your prayers. We've all lost someone special and dear. This win's for Doc. To the Rivers family, this win is for ya'll."

After learning of the news, Rivers had an emotional meeting with his staff at the team hotel. He later told the players about it during their morning meeting.

Grady Rivers was a former Chicago police lieutenant who often went to his son's high school games and sat in the front row in uniform. He scheduled his work days around his son's games. Grady Rivers, who raised his family in Maywood, Ill., also found time to coach his son's youth baseball teams. During baseball practice, the elder Rivers drove his police car onto the field in his police uniform and turned up the volume on his dispatch radio so he could hear it.

"Obviously, it's a tough loss for the family," Thibodeau said. "The way Doc is, you just feel for him. Doc's a strong guy, and when you see someone go through that, it's sad."

While many of Rivers's friends' fathers were incarcerated or dead, his parents were always near.

"We were there because so many parents weren't," Grady Rivers told the Globe in an Oct. 1, 2006 story.