Austin Rivers: 'I had to battle' to step out of Doc's shadow

Austin Rivers has always played basketball with a chip on his shoulder. The Houston Rockets guard constantly feels like a marked man because his father is Doc Rivers, the longtime NBA player and head coach.

"People have been going at my head since I was 6 years old," Rivers recently told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears. "So why do you think I have that swagger? That is why you don’t see many success stories of sons of players or coaches in the NBA. Imagine the pressure? I had to battle all of that."

While Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both had fathers who played in the NBA, Rivers attests he's "got it worse" because he and his father are in the league simultaneously.

As such, the 26-year-old feels that many misconceptions have been drawn about him, especially while playing under his father with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-18.

"I played for my father. People don’t know how to react to that," Rivers said. "I talk s--- hooping, just like every other player in the league. But people are like, 'Oh, he’s arrogant.' It’s because my last name is Rivers. But I do everything everyone else does. I grind. I work my butt off. The only reason is because I played for my pops."

Rivers insisted he wanted "to earn" everything himself while playing for his father, but he knew when it was time for the two to go their separate ways. He was sent to the Washington Wizards this past June, and shortly after being waived by the Phoenix Suns in December following another trade, he signed with the Rockets.

"The fact that I got to play with him, and we got to hoop on the same team, that is so dope," Rivers said. "Like, people hate on it, but that’s one of the coolest s--- ever. I’ll be able to tell my son that me and his grandfather got to work together."