Doc Rivers sees similarities in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Maxey: ‘They wanted more, they wanted to learn.’

Before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was putting up MVP numbers, leading the league in scoring, and competing in the NBA Finals, he was learning under head coach Doc Rivers as a rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I loved him, yeah,” said Rivers on the Bill Simmons podcast. “I told you that. I told you that three years ago. But c’mon. No one saw this.”

After averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, the rookie was traded to the Thunder as part of a package deal for Paul George, with an idea to pair him with Kawhi Leonard, who they signed in free agency. Of course, the trade was bittersweet for Rivers.

“I know where I was at when the trade finally went through,” Rivers said. “Lawrence [Frank] calls me and tells me Shai is in the trade. You know, it’s so funny Bill, I was so happy we got Kawhi and I was — it bothered me to make that call to Shai. And I’ve shared that. That was a tough call. And he handled it like such a pro. But, you also felt like it was this ‘I’m going to make you pay for this,’ trade. That’s how you felt.”

After the trade, SGA blossomed into a star player for OKC — earning his first All-Star nod and All-NBA first-team selection in his fourth season with the Thunder. After seven seasons in the NBA, the guard made his first NBA Finals appearance — competing against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers.

Rivers is proud of the guard’s accomplishments and believes he draws similarities to another young guard he’s coached in the past: Tyrese Maxey.

“I’m so happy for him because he reminds me a lot of Maxey,” Rivers said. “It’s funny, as a coach you have some of these young guys that are just sponges. I coached Shai hard. I coached Maxey hard. And both of them can take it. They wanted more, they wanted to learn, they just both are very similar.”

Throughout Rivers’ 25 seasons in the NBA, the 63-year-old has been the head coach of five different organizations. Rivers coached the Sixers for three seasons (2020-23), leading the team to three playoff appearances before ending in three second round exits.

In Maxey’s five seasons in the NBA, the former Kentucky guard has earned one All-Star nod and was named the Most Improved Player in 2024.

“You think they’re these nice guys,” Rivers said. “Like Shai, as you said, he comes off as this nice guy. Shai’s a stone-blooded killer. He does not care about making you happy when you get on the floor, and he had that when he was a rookie. Now, the way he’s playing now, I don’t think anyone saw that.”