NEW YORK — Jacque Vaughn played for Doc Rivers as a point guard on the 2002-03 Orlando Magic. On Saturday, Vaughn and Rivers will compete against each other as head coaches as the Nets and 76ers kick off their first-round playoff series in Philadelphia.
Vaughn called it a “luxury” to play and learn under Rivers and said he’s known the Sixers’ coach for a long time.
“Tremendous amount of respect and how many games he’s coached and the way he’s done it; won at a high level and been able to do it with different groups,” the Nets’ coach said after Tuesday’s practice. “Shows you how good he is. I think overall, he has a command of his team.”
Vaughn said he learned from Rivers how to coach superstars, which came in handy when he assumed the head coaching post after Steve Nash’s dismissal seven games into the season. He was thrust into a role that required leading two NBA superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The experiment only lasted until days before the trade deadline, when Irving requested a trade, but the results were fruitful.
After a 2-5 start to the season, Vaughn’s Nets amassed a 31-20 record before Irving’s final game in Brooklyn.
The roots, however, were laid in Orlando on a Magic team coached by Rivers but headlined by Tracy McGrady, a superstar who averaged 32.7 points per game on the season. The Nets coach appeared in 80 games and averaged six points, three assists and a steal under Rivers and alongside McGrady that year.
“[Doc] knows how to communicate with guys,” Vaughn said. “So I learned that — at that time — Tracy McGrady was the star on our team. How do you talk to your stars on your team? How do you keep them accountable? But how do you love and continue to push the rest of the group. So I learned a lot from him.”
Vaughn, however, suggested that might be the extent of his relationship with Rivers.
“I didn’t say I know him that well,” he said shortly after. “I said I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. I know him as a coach, but I don’t think we’re both going to get Philly cheesesteaks when we’re going down there. That’s for sure.”
Asked if he thought Rivers’ son-in-law Seth Curry — who was traded to Brooklyn in the deal for James Harden — would get cheesesteaks with Rivers, Vaughn sidestepped the question.
“Not sure about that,” he said. “That’s a family thing, now. I don’t touch family now! I don’t mess with family!”
