Sixers express happiness for Dan Burke after first career win over Nets
Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Dan Burke was thrown into a tough spot on Thursday when he had to serve as the team’s head coach against the Brooklyn Nets. Coach Doc Rivers entered the health and safety protocols on Thursday morning and Burke had to take over coaching duties at that point.
In his third career game serving as head coach–he did it twice with the Indiana Pacers–Burke got his first career win 110-102 over the Nets on the road. It was an impressive win all-around as the Sixers had to get a win in tough circumstances.
“I’m just happy for those guys,” said Burke. “We’ve got four days or so before we play again. To get this win, build this momentum, and I don’t know what the protocols are gonna allow practice-wise, but this is something that I think we can all look at and say ‘We’re better when we’re like this vs. this’ and this is stronger and we just gotta build that. That’s what Doc has been building up to.”
While Burke will deflect the praise, he has his players tooting his horn for him. Joel Embiid gave credit to Burke while also recalling the time Burke said he hated Embiid for how many fouls he draws while he was with the Pacers.
“I always go back to before he was a part of our coaching staff, the way he used to hate me,” Embiid laughed. “The stuff that he used to say. It’s funny. That’s the same thing that kind of goes with fans too, when someone doesn’t play for your team, it’s easy to hate. When you’re on the same team, you appreciate it even more. I think that’s what I see with him.”
After the win, the Sixers did give Burke a bath. They doused him with a lot of water bottles to celebrate his first win as a coach.
“For him to step up and do what he did today on short notice was great,” said Andre Drummond. “It’s a testament to how great of a coach he really is despite him being an assistant and him stepping up to the plate and being able to run the show and give us the tools we need to be great. It was really good for us.”
Burke has been the defensive coordinator for Rivers during his time with Philadelphia and he has had a positive influence on the team. It’s clear that he has the respect of the Sixers despite Rivers obviously running the show there.
“He’s been great for our defense and just as a voice,” Embiid added. “He’s been in the NBA for a long time. We’re extremely happy for him.”
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