"Your best years were under him" - Austin Rivers sticks up for his dad after JJ Redick's rant about Doc Rivers making 'excuse'
Austin Rivers has come to the defense of his father after JJ Redick recently called him out on First Take. Redick had some scathing comments for the Milwaukee Bucks head coach, saying he always comes up with excuses for his team's lack of success.
The Bucks have gone 3-7 since Doc Rivers took over as the team's head coach. In their last game before the All-Star break, they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 113-110, and Rivers made a comment insinuating that his players were not mentally there. This comment seemed to draw the majority of Redick's ire, and he called the head coach out for his perceived lack of accountability.
However, as Stephen A Smith pointed out after Redick's rant, there is more weight to these comments since he used to play for Rivers when he was with the Clippers.
This was the same thing that Austin Rivers pointed out when he came to his father's defense later on NBA Today.
"In terms of accountability, what are we doing here?" Asked Austin Rivers, directed toward Redick. "Your best years in the NBA were when you played for [Doc Rivers] in the Clippers, let's not forget that.
Austin Rivers added that the Clippers' system at the time had to be built around Redick because he was a pure shooter with no handles. He gave Redick props by saying he did have a hell of a career before going back to defending his father.
"Your best years were under him," Rivers continued. "It's just very ironic and kinda weird that you have this energy towards him in terms of him never ever being accountable considering he's always been responsible."
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Is Austin Rivers right in saying JJ Redick had his best years under Doc Rivers?
JJ Redick did have a great four years with the LA Clippers, averaging 15.8 points per game while shooting 44.0% from downtown. During the 2015-16 season, he also led the league in 3-point shooting percentage, making 47.5% of his attempts.
However, from a statistical standpoint, JJ Redick had a better stint with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2017 to 2019 under Brett Brown's coaching.
In 2017, Redick averaged 17.1 points per game, which is higher than his best scoring season with the Clippers (16.4 in 2014-15). He also averaged more assists in his first season with the 76ers at 3.0 assists per game compared to his best with the Clippers (2.2 in 2013-14).
Redick's 2018-19 season was even better scoring-wise as he averaged a career-best 18.1 points per game along with 2.7 assists.