Recently,Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers took a bit of a shot at his former team. When asked about the Los Angeles Clippers, the renowned coach claimed that team was never going to win a ring.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from that team, but that team was never going to win when you look back at it. We just didn’t get along well enough as a group, and you can’t win without cooperation. That’s the only way you can win,” Rivers said.
Notably, that rubbed some of his former players the wrong way, mostly because he always said the opposite. That’s why JJ Redick blamed him for their shortcomings in a sit-down with Jamal Crawford.
JJ Redick Calls Out Doc Rivers, Blames Him For Clippers Failures
“I thought it was weird,” Redick said on his podcast. “To not get any of that accountability from him, and the interesting part, too, is he’s talking about players getting along, and he was brought in…Doc’s reputation was like as a personality manager…and he was a GM, so like if people weren’t getting along, I don’t know, it’s kind of on (Doc).”
“I guess the part that bothers me is like, in ’14 and ’15, we all believed we could win. Doc, the orator and the motivator, clearly believed we could win. Why randomly, eight years later, are you changing the narrative on that?” Redick sentenced.
Rivers isn’t the most popular coach among players. He won’t hesitate to throw them under the bus, even though no one has blown more playoff series leads than him in the history of this league.
He could be on the hot seat if the Sixers underperform in the playoffs again this season, so it would be interesting to hear what he has to say about that team a couple of years from now if that happens.