Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has quite a unique relationship with Miami Heat team president Pat Riley. Apart from being two of the greatest coaches in the history of the NBA, these two were actually on the same team nearly three decades ago.
Back then, Rivers was still a player while Riley was the head coach of the New York Knicks. After Doc retired in 1996, he worked as a broadcaster and had the opportunity to cover some of Riley's games. Apparently, Riley didn't appreciate how Rivers criticized him as a commentator. This led to Riley confronting his former player on a constant basis:
“When I did TV for three years, every day he would call me or challenge me,” said the Sixers coach, via Tim Reynolds of The Globe And Mail. “He would belittle me, literally. … I used to think he was wrong. He ended up being right.”
As it turns out, Riley's harsh words ended up being sound advice for Rivers. In spite of their previous misunderstandings, the Sixers shot-caller is now adamant that he would not be where he is today had it not been for Pat Riley.
“I’ve been around some pretty good guys,” said Rivers. “But Riley, clearly, had the biggest impact. It’s not even close. I mean, I had no thoughts of coaching until I played for Pat Riley and the way he did it, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool.’”
Right now, these two fiends are on opposing sides of the court. Riley's Heat are 2-0 up in their second-round series against Rivers and the Sixers. Philly may be down, but they're not out just yet.
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