Three times Doc Rivers seemingly threw former and current players under the bus
Doc Rivers has been hit with shots from every angle this week. JJ Redick called out Doc Rivers for not being accountable. Marcin Gortat backed up Redick’s distaste for their former coach. Although his son Austin Rivers came to his defense, he admitted the two have a strained relationship.
Doc Rivers has been in the coaching game for a long time. It appears he has not always been the most popular guy with all of his players along the way.
Rivers has had some run-ins and public spats with former players during his 25-year NBA head coaching career. Blake Griffin and other players have thrown shade at Rivers way after no longer being coached by him. Let’s take a look at some instances when Doc Rivers got into it with a former player.
Three Times Doc Rivers blamed his players
Ben Simmons in Philly
Ben Simmons had a rough go at the end of his time with the Philadelphia 76ers. Coach Doc Rivers did not help when he questioned Simmons’ leadership.
Rivers was asked if Simmons could lead a team to a championship and the coach did not back up Simmons. Rivers said:
“I don’t know how that question or the answer to that right now.”
The remarks blew up and many took it as a sign that Rivers had no faith in his player. The comments came after the Sixers lost Game 7 to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Bucks' defensive efforts
Rivers threw some shade toward his players upon his arrival in Milwaukee this season. He has only coached 10 games before the All-Star break. The Bucks went 3-7 in that span. Despite only being with the team for 10 games, Rivers called out the team’s defensive efforts.
"I think right now, what our team is, we get our personality from the offensive end. And we don't want that. We want to get our personality from the defense, from playing hard and doing defensive things. Tonight, you could just see it," Rivers said.
The remarks were not well received. River’s former player JJ Redick called out Rivers for making excuses and blaming his players.
Paul George in LA
Paul George and Doc Rivers had a run-in in 2020. George criticized Rivers for how he used him with the Clippers. The comments came after Rivers left LA for Philadelphia. George did not like his role under Rivers.
"The way I was being used, I felt Doc was trying to play me as like a Ray Allen or like a JJ Redick, all pin-downs. I can do it, but that ain't my game," George said.
Rivers responded with a somewhat muted response. However, he did not take much accountability and did not exactly back up George’s point.
"Hey, listen, I enjoyed coaching him. So not a lot to say there,” Rivers said. “Listen, we lost the game, and I think everybody needs to take ownership. [Me] obviously. We can always do better. Players can play better. So as far as I'm concerned, I'll leave it there."
It was another example of Rivers not siding with his players and another time he butted heads with a star player. On the flip side, players like Patrick Beverley adamantly defend Rivers and have come to his support during recent criticism of the coach.