Doc Rivers Shockingly Snubs Damian Lillard for Warriors Star 7 Years After Parting Ways

It has been over two months since the Milwaukee Bucks hired Doc Rivers as their new head coach and his job in the team hasn’t been as easy as he might have expected. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. are 14-12 with Rivers this season, leading to many questioning his credibility as the head coach. Fuelling the doubts futher, Doc Rivers made another controversial choice on social media as he snubbed Damian Lillard for Warriors’ star Chris Paul 7 years after parting ways with him.

During a social media segment with Podcast host Sloane, Rivers played a game where he had to pick players from a bracket until he got the ultimate winner. When point guards Chris Paul and Damian Lillard appeared on the screen, Rivers quickly leaned toward the former Clippers star to pick him over Dame. That was a surprising choice, considering Rivers is Lillard’s current head coach in Milwaukee.

CP3 eventually got eliminated from the game after Rivers picked Paul Pierce over him two rounds later. But the Bucks fans would have liked it if Doc Rivers had not snubbed Lillard for his former prodigy. It was from 2014 to 2017 that Chris Paul played under Doc Rivers with the LA Clippers. Despite having a star-studded team, the duo was unable to find any significant success in the playoffs. The two failed multiple times to never make it past the Western Conference semi-finals.

Chris Paul and Doc Rivers had a shaky relationship in LA Clippers

Doc Rivers snubbing Damian Lillard for Chris Paul was even more shocking considering CP3 and Doc did not share a great relationship during their work together. After playing three years under Doc’s leadership, Chris Paul decided to leave the Clippers to join the Houston Rockets. According to a report by ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz, Paul told Clippers owner Steve Ballmer that Doc Rivers was one of the contributing factors in his decision to leave LA. Even Doc Rivers stated during his appearance on The Hoop Collective Podcast, “I think he (Chris Paul) was tired of hearing my voice.”

Rivers revealed what it was like coaching CP3 in LA, “I think Chris is a guy who is very opinionated, wants to be coached ‘kind of,’ but wants a partnership as well. And it’s tough from a coaching perspective. You gotta have a partnership but at times, you’ve gotta make the call. I thought that bothered him.” It has been 7 years since Doc Rivers and Chris Paul parted ways, and both have entered a new phase in their careers. Hopefully, Rivers’ decision will not affect the chemistry in the Bucks locker room.

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