When Doc Rivers opens his mouth, it is rarely to hand out praise. So when it comes to assessing the last superstar he coached, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, he does not hold back.
Speaking to Bill Simmons, the now-retired coach stresses how difficult the Greek star was to coach, criticising the fact that he has only one plan on the court, whatever stage of the game it is.
“He’s not an easy player. He plays at that crazy pace… He’s a really difficult guy. He has a great ability to pass the ball, but at the same time he’s not super smart. He really only has one way of playing. On every play, he wants to force the action. I wish he had learned to execute better,” he says.
Continuing his assessment of the Miami Heat’s new franchise player, he understands that playing under one of the best coaches in the game, Erik Spoelstra, should help him.
“The thing is, he still needs to learn the value of execution, how important it is, when you’re in practice or in shootaround, to focus on execution. Now he has a coach who is elite at execution,” he concludes.
Doc Rivers and the 2008 ring
When Doc Rivers won the 2008 championship with the Boston Celtics, his reputation soared. He had led to glory a team that had not come close since Larry Bird, and that catapulted him into major projects such as the Clippers of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin or the Philadelphia 76ers of Joel Embiid. He came unstuck at both, as he did in Milwaukee, leaving a legacy that, now that he is retired, is not easy to assess.
(Photograph by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
