Austin Rivers says the story around his NBA career has always been simpler than the noise around it. On To The Baha, he made his position clear, via HoopsHype: “I didn’t get in the league because of my dad. And I didn’t stay in the league because of my dad.”
Rivers said his path still included real advantages, but not the kind critics love to reduce it to. “Now, do I get to be a part of a team and an opportunity with a staff that believed in me and a coach that I knew I could play freely for? Absolutely, man,” he said, explaining why he chose fit over flash.
That fit mattered to him more than name recognition. Rivers said, “That’s why I came back. That’s why when Portland offered me 40 million, that’s why when Phil Jackson was trying to explain the goddamn Triangle offense in my living room, I didn’t go to New York.”
He said the decision was about trusting a situation where he could play his game, not about leaning on family ties. “I went back to LA to get that bag so I could go play for my pops and I could play freely and be myself,” Rivers said, adding that he “actually ended up doing pretty f*cking solid as a role player under Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford.”
Over 11 NBA seasons, Rivers played 707 games, started 184 of them, and averaged 8.5 points per game. He spent time with New Orleans, the Clippers, Washington, Houston, New York, Denver and Minnesota.
