It’s Wednesday, April 18th, 2007.
19,580 people at TD garden are chanting “Fire Doc. Fire Doc”.
The Boston Celtics, a once-storied franchise, have had a run of bad luck. They've finished the season with one of the worst records in the NBA, a dismal 24-58.
“Fire Doc. Fire Doc”. Their talking about Boston’s Head Coach, Doc Rivers.
How many of you have ever had tens of thousands of people rooting for your untimely departure from the workplace?
To turn the tide in the offseason, the franchise trades for a core of superstar players, bringing in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce. Even that decision was fraught with uncertainty - all three were superstar leaders with previous interpersonal conflict.
Doc Rivers, knew he faced a monumental task. A task that went beyond drawing up plays and managing minutes. He had to turn individual stars into a unified team.
He needed a philosophy, a guiding principle that could transform this collection of talent into a cohesive unit.
At pre-season training camp in Rome, Italy, Doc introduced "Ubuntu", a South African philosophy that embodies the ideas of connection, community, and mutual caring for all. The term is often translated as "I am because we are," or "humanity towards others,".
Desmond Tutu says “Ubuntu is the essence of being human.” He and Nelson Mandela used Ubuntu as a rallying cry to unite South Africa after Apartheid.
To Doc Rivers, the philosophy meant, “I can’t be all I can be unless you are all you can be. I can never be threatened by you because you’re good, because the better you are, the better I am.
Doc broke the word down into different parts and chose the rookies to be the perfect messenger. He said, “I’m going to teach you this word, and I need you guys to sell this to the team.” You guys are going to get up in front of the team and give a presentation. They did it with passion, a little bit of humor…and swag.
At the end, due to the success of their presentation, Kevin Garnett in the back of the room said, “Ubuntu on three.”
The season started rolling on, and the team started living ubuntu. Doc had the word written on the locker room walls, and players were expected to live the philosophy both on and off the court. One time someone came on the team plane with snacks. But it was just enough snacks for the one person. Someone on the team asked if they brought enough for everyone else? they said no. “Oh man, you’re not being Ubuntu.” They talked that word, they lived that word.
As the season was starting to roll, personal tragedy struck. Doc's father, Grady Rivers, passed away. Doc had to leave his team to attend the funeral, at a time when they were still finding their footing, still learning to embody Ubuntu.
Back home in Chicago with his family, Doc receives a call from Kevin Garnett at halftime of that night’s game. Kevin said, “When you’re sad, I’m sad.”
That game came down to the last time-out with 7.1 seconds on the clock. The assistant coach draws up the play, Paul Pierce throws it in, and Ray Allen sinks the game winner from the corner at the buzzer.
The players start celebrating in the middle of the court, and it was all Gratitude to Doc Rivers. It was all Gratitude to Ubuntu. Every interview they gave that night, that’s all they said. Ubuntu.
When Doc returned, his team was there, unified and ready to win together. That’s when Doc knew it was more than just a word, it was actually real. With the strength of Ubuntu propelling them forward, they tore through the regular season with a 66-16 record, a stunning turnaround from the previous season. They played unselfish, team-first basketball, the embodiment of Ubuntu on the court.