Doc Rivers apologizes to Giannis: “I worded it poorly”
Here’s chapter three of the Doc Rivers–Giannis Antetokounmpo saga: first came the former coach’s criticism, then a clearly annoyed response from Giannis, and now an apology from Rivers
First came the criticism, then Giannis’ response, and now the apology. Doc Rivers has moved to clarify his comments about Giannis Antetokounmpo after what he said on Bill Simmons’ podcast stirred up plenty of discussion.
The former Milwaukee Bucks coach, now an NBC Sports analyst, had questioned aspects of the Greek star’s ability to read the game, suggesting that his basketball IQ might not be all that high and that he tended to rely primarily on his physical strength.
Doc Rivers clarifies: “It was meant as a compliment”
Speaking with Andscape, Rivers said he had worded his comments poorly and had already reached out to Giannis to apologize.
Rivers said the issue stemmed from his use of the term basketball IQ when what he really meant to discuss was Giannis’ feel for the game and how he reads plays.
I was saying he’s one of the most interesting players. He makes incredible passes, but sometimes the force he plays with ends up affecting how he reads certain situations. It was more of a compliment than a criticism
Doc Rivers
Rivers then said he regretted how things had played out.
I hate this situation, and I’m sorry. I apologize for creating a distraction. That wasn’t my intention
Doc Rivers
The former Bucks coach also said he had texted Antetokounmpo to apologize and received a positive response. So at least between the two of them, it seems they’ve already cleared the air.
Was “Hard to coach” a compliment, too?
Basketball IQ wasn’t the only point of contention. On the podcast, Rivers had also described Giannis as a player who wasn’t easy to coach. Without further explanation, that didn’t exactly sound like praise either.
Doc wanted to clear that up, too.
What I was trying to say is that when you have a great player, you have to build the team around him. That isn’t always easy. It’s a compliment
Doc Rivers
Rivers added:
Sometimes I got it right, sometimes I didn’t. But your job is to build the best possible team around that great player and his strengths
Doc Rivers
Whether Doc’s explanations were enough to convince everyone remains to be seen. After all, calling a player “hard to coach” and questioning his basketball IQ, then explaining that both were compliments, isn’t exactly the easiest way to get your point across.