Before Doc Rivers became a respected court general and eventual NBA championship-winning head coach, he earned his stripes the hard, honest way.
Playing on concrete, the up-and-coming Rivers, a true streetball aficionado, faced countless matchups. While it’s hard to pick just one, he did — back in 1992, during an interview for the documentary “More than a Game.”
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Rivers vs. Thomas
As Rivers recalled, that matchup started like any other — but nothing about it stayed ordinary for long.
Around 2:00 p.m., on a flawless weekend afternoon, 15 to 20 spectators edged along the sidelines, eyes fixed on the teams — each hell-bent on leaving everything on the concrete.
On one side stood Rivers and his entourage, battle-tested and eager to prove themselves. On the other hand, fellow Chicago native Isiah Thomas and the four or five guys he had brought from the city’s West Side, a neighborhood forged by grit, poverty and relentless streetball culture.
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Once the matchup began, both teams quickly fell into a rhythm, trading wins possession after possession. Rivers remembered the players going back and forth, lost in a trance of constant competition — so absorbed that the surroundings eventually dissolved into the background.
Streetball battles to NBA glory
As darkness fell, Doc noticed something striking: the original 15 to 20 spectators were no longer recognizable — not because they had left in boredom, but because the game had drawn such a massive, electrified crowd that individual faces blurred together.
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“A ball came off the rim and I think Ricky Wilson, the guy who was playing with me, grabbed it and dunked it,” the 2000 Coach of the Year recounted. “And you hear this and you look up and there’s probably a hundred people hanging on the fence, standing around cheering. It was a game. It was like a structured high school game with the crowd, and we had been playing so hard you just didn’t pay any attention.”
Unfortunately, Rivers didn’t track which team ultimately won more — his or Thomas’ — but one thing was undeniable: every player and spectator that day had an unforgettable experience. After all, how often do you witness two future Chicagoan NBA point guards showcase their skill and relentless drive in the purest, most unfiltered form under the summer sun?
The story also highlights basketball at its most raw and magical. Grabbing a ball, gathering friends — regardless of which side of the city they came from — and stepping onto the court can make the world disappear, turning the park into a sanctuary. Rivers’ memory is proof of that enduring allure.
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Interestingly, the now-Milwaukee Bucks head coach reflected on the toughness that defined those streetball games. He explained that they “learned to take it to the basket in brutal conditions — getting fouled, getting knocked down, even falling on glass.”
It’s safe to say that raw streetball grit proved especially invaluable for both Rivers and Thomas, who would go on to be drafted just two years apart: Thomas in 1981 to the Detroit Pistons and Rivers in 1983 to the Atlanta Hawks.
Beyond their NBA careers, the former point guards also forged a lasting friendship, as evidenced by Thomas reportedly serving as an usher at Rivers’ wedding in 1986.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.