Rivers, who once coached Antetokounmpo, said on a podcast last week that the former MVP doesn't have a super-high IQ and was difficult to coach.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a few things to say about his old coach after the Miami Heat beat the Sacramento Kings 114-108 on Sunday night. Asked about comments Doc Rivers made last week on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where Rivers claimed Antetokounmpo "doesn't have a super-high IQ" and described him as difficult to coach, Giannis did not hold back on his confusion.
"He's not my coach. My coach is coach Spo, but he's a coach that I've worked with in the past," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm speechless... You gotta go ask him why he thought that. That's on him. That's not on me... That's crazy."
Antetokounmpo said he was stunned when he was informed of what Rivers had said, noting the remarks about his basketball intelligence came alongside Rivers' claims that coaching him had been "difficult" and "not easy." He made clear the responsibility for explaining the comments lies with Rivers, not him.
The dustup adds a strange footnote to the working relationship between a former NBA MVP and a coach who once led him. For now, Antetokounmpo appears content to let the question sit with Rivers rather than relitigate the past himself.