14-07-2025
Doc Rivers on the origin of the ubuntu-era Boston Celtics
The 2008 Boston Celtics are a famous historical example of the NBA's superteam era, the coalescing of Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen to make the so-called "New Big Three" in Boston one of the more riveting chapters in NBA history as a dormant superpower came awake again under the tutelage of head coach Doc Rivers.
Key to the success of the team and the pursuit of the storied ball club's 17th banner was the philosophy brought to the team by Rivers called "ubuntu" -- a concept derived from Swahili referencing how the sum total of a group can be more than its parts through a concept that literally translates from something meaning "I am what I am because of what we are."
Where did this come from, and why did Rivers use it to such great success? The man himself told the tale of the ubuntu-era Celtics in NBC Sports Boston's 2018 documentary "Anything is Possible". Check it out below!
