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Austin Rivers: Nepotism Claims 'Drove Me Crazy' While Playing for Doc, Clippers
May 13, 2020
Austin Rivers became the first player to have his father, Doc Rivers, as his head coach when he made his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers in January 2015.
The 27-year-old Houston Rockets guard welcomed Doc onto his UNINTERRUPTED Go Off with Austin Rivers podcast Wednesday to reflect on their uncharted dynamic the Clippers from 2015-18 (17:40):
"That's what drove me crazy is people would say—even people who would try to be nice would be like, it's not different than when a dad hires his son at a law firm," Austin said. "I said, it's not the same thing. You can't be given an NBA job. I got drafted. If your dad is a CEO of a company, he can hire his son and place him in whatever position he wants."
The then-New Orleans Hornets selected Rivers 10th overall in the 2012 NBA draft, and the Duke product played for New Orleans until a three-team trade sent him to the Clippers in January 2015.
L.A. traded Rivers to the Washington Wizards in June 2018, and he signed with the Rockets in December 2018 before agreeing to a two-year extension last July.
This season, Rivers is averaging 8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.4 minutes across 60 games (four starts) for the Rockets prior to the NBA's hiatus taking effect on March 12.
