Doc Rivers’ son Austin says the Sixers ‘did my pops dirty’
Despite regular season success, the former Sixers coach was fired in May after another second-round exit.
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In the offseason, the 76ers fired coach Doc Rivers after three seasons, replacing him with current coach Nick Nurse. Rivers went 154-82 during his time with the Sixers but failed to get the team out of the second round of the playoffs.
But Rivers’ son, Austin Rivers, thinks Doc got a raw deal from the Sixers. On ESPN’s First Take on Thursday, Austin was asked about his thoughts about the Sixers’ title chances, but he couldn’t stay unbiased.
“In terms of Philly and where I see them at in the long race, I see them as a third option, comingbehind Milwaukee and the Celtics,” Austin Rivers said. “I’m not going to say anything positive about Philly, man. They did my pops dirty, I’ve got nothing positive to say about them. ... It is personal! Family over everything. Family first. Come on. Daryl [Morey], I’m talking to you.”
Rivers played 11 seasons in the NBA, including four under Doc with the Clippers (2015-18) and two on Morey-run Rockets teams (2018-2020). Both Doc and Austin, who retired after last season, now work for ESPN, with Doc serving on the primary NBA broadcast team with Mike Breen and Doris Burke and Austin serving as an analyst.
Despite Austin’s criticism’s of the Sixers as a whole, did have some positive things to say about star Joel Embiid, who he said he believes can win a second consecutive MVP.
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“I think [Embiid] is capable,” Austin said. “This guy puts up numbers on a night in, night out basis. He’s one of the most dominant bigs, second-most, obviously, he plays in an era with Nikola [Jokic]. I love his game. He’s must-see TV.”
Speaking of TV, the Sixers are back in action and on the air Friday night when they host the Hawks at 7 p.m. (NBCSP).