Austin Rivers shares details about relationship with father Doc
Things can fall apart very quickly in life, something the Los Angeles Clippers are experiencing from a basketball perspective.
Coach Doc Rivers' emotional postgame news conference Wednesday touched on his close bond with his late mother. Now, Doc's son, guard Austin Rivers, shed some further light on that and his own relationship with his father.
"She was his rock," Austin said of his grandmother, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi. "My father's a very private person. I mean a very private person. His life outside of basketball, he doesn't really share it with anybody. He doesn’t really share his life outside of basketball with me. He and I don't know each other like that."
Austin has been the butt of jokes by some since arriving on his father's Clippers via trade in January 2015. Never known as an efficient player even in a role capacity, some have even posited his is a wasted roster spot so Doc could have his son on board.
Yet Austin describes a relationship rooted mostly in the game.
"We know each other as strictly basketball," Austin said. "A lot of people on the outside don’t understand that because people think we have a relationship like every other father and son. We just don't. That's because he's been gone my whole life, and that's fine."
When Austin was born, Doc was still playing for the New York Knicks, and began his coaching career with the Orlando Magic when his son was seven.
"It’s worked out for the both of us," Austin said. "But the one person he could always really be with was his mom. That’s the toughest thing I’ve ever seen him go through, more than the (Donald) Sterling stuff and even when his dad passed away. His mom was everything to him. I've never seen him like that."
Related: Rivers dismisses 'Clippers curse' following Griffin, Paul injuries
The Clippers' sudden adversity due to injury has dropped their Vegas title odds to 500-1, last among all remaining playoff teams. But Austin doesn't count out his father's abilities as a motivator.
"He's a hell of a leader," Austin said. "He controls the room when he talks. He's the most positive coach I've ever played for in my life. We're going to try to fight as hard as we can for him and each other. We still believe we’re going to win this series."