Doc Rivers joins NBA on NBC
Credit: NBC Sports; Darren Yamashita – Imagn Images
Doc Rivers is back in NBA media, and this time he insists he’s in it for the long haul.
NBC Sports announced Monday that it hired Rivers as a game analyst. Rivers will join his son, Austin, on the network’s broadcast roster in the second season since it reacquired NBA rights.
The longtime NBA point guard turned championship head coach was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks after the season, just two years after leaving ESPN midseason to take that job. At ESPN, Rivers was the lead game analyst and was set to call the NBA Finals. Despite reportedly telling the network that he would not return to coaching, he did so halfway through the year.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Rivers insisted he is done coaching.
“I honestly can say I’m absolutely retired,” Rivers said. “I had a long run. It ended up in the (Naismith) Hall of Fame (earlier this year), and I am so thankful that I was able to coach and played as long as I did. For the first time, I can focus on giving TV my 100% attention, which I’m really looking forward to.”
The comments are similar to those he gave on The Bill Simmons Podcast earlier this summer, though Rivers denied he would retire in a retort to Stephen A. Smith in the spring.
A more pressing question for NBC may be where Rivers will stack up on its broadcast roster. The network moved quickly to assemble its lead broadcast team last year, hiring TNT’s A-team of Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as analysts to join Mike Tirico on the call.
When Rivers has called games in the past, he has been the top analyst. Rivers called the 2004 NBA Finals with Al Michaels for ABC, and joined ESPN in the lead chair in 2024.
Networks typically prefer coaches as top game analysts, but Miller has years of experience calling top games dating back to his years with TNT. The two could join together in the lead booth for Sunday Night Basketball and postseason action, mirroring another trend in basketball broadcasting, the three-person lead booth. If they did, it would force Crawford down a level.
The AP story on Rivers joining NBC noted he may contribute to the network’s studio coverage as well.
Rivers’ son, Austin, was a lead analyst for Peacock On the Bench broadcasts last season. He also called some playoff games in his first year as a game analyst.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen