Former Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers recently shed light on a handful of allegations that haunted the team last season. A good number of the issues came firing at the direction of both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George who reportedly received preferential star treatments in their first campaign with the Clippers back in 2019-2020.
“A lot of it is true,” Rivers admitted via ESPN. “There was special treatment, but what people don't understand is I was the guy who didn't like it and was fighting it.”
Despite the rumors ringing true for the Clippers, Rivers hoped that it could've been different given that they were a veteran-laden team. He cited his previous hallway rivals in the Los Angeles Lakers as an epitome of having leaders who know what it takes to win and a supporting cast that is willing to rally behind them.
“The goal on every team is to find a group of guys who have figured out how to win — or at least some of them,” Rivers says. “If they are the right ones, they don't give a s— what anyone else does. They don't get caught up in all the crap.”
“The Lakers are a great example. Clearly LeBron and AD got different treatment, but the guys around them said, ‘Who cares? As long as we win.”
After all the turmoil, Rivers has already learned lessons along the way and hoped to be better as he is set to coach a new team in the Philadelphia 76ers for the upcoming seasons.
“Hearing now how much that team didn't get along, that bothers me,” former Clippers coach Doc Rivers says. “I pride myself on getting guys together. I knew we weren't the most cohesive team, but — maybe it's my ego — I thought I could get everyone to still buy in.”
Last season, the Clippers were expected by many to barge into the playoffs and potentially challenge the Lakers at some point in the postseason. However, the Clippers failed to get past the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals where they infamously blew a 3-1 advantage and ultimately succumbed in Game 7 of the series.
After being a huge disappointment, Doc Rivers knew that he had no one else to blame but himself for allowing such a culture to develop in the team's locker room. The veteran tactician is hoping to turn over a new leaf and accomplish the things that he failed to do with the Clippers as he ventures to his new journey as the head coach of the 76ers starting in the 2020-2021 season.
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