Doc Rivers Bags New Role, Forms NBA's First Father-Son Broadcast Duo With Son Austin

After 27 seasons serving the NBA as a head coach, Doc Rivers has finally called it quits. Earlier in April, Rivers stepped down from coaching after his stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. We didn't know he had retired at the time until his legend status was cemented on Aug. 15, when Doc was officially enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Now a retired coach, Rivers appears ready to take on a side quest. AP News reported that Doc will join NBC's broadcast team for the 2026-27 season.

"With Rivers now insisting that his Hall of Fame coaching career is over, the time seemed right for him to join NBC," Joe Reedy of AP News reported.

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time Rivers was offered an opportunity to share his voice for NBC. Back in 1996, the media company reached out to Doc in hopes of having him on the team. However, Rivers was still actively coaching at the time and wasn't ready to move on. However, now that he's officially retired, he feels that the timing to join NBC couldn't be better.

"Doc Rivers turned down an offer to become an NBA analyst for NBC after retiring as a player in 1996 because he couldn’t promise then-NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol that he wouldn’t become a coach," Reedy continued.

With Doc coming to the crew, he is set to join his son, Austin Rivers, who has been an active member of NBC since 2025. This makes them the first father-son duo in which both members are former NBA players working as analysts for the same network.

It'll be interesting to see how their father-son banter would shine during broadcasts come the 2026-27 season.

Austin Rivers First Time Interviewing Doc Rivers Shows Their Comedic Banter For NBC

Now that Austin and Doc Rivers are set to make history on NBC, many might be intrigued by how their chemistry would turn out when the 2026-27 season commences. Apparently, NBA fans are in for a real treat.

Back in 2025, when Austin first joined the NBC broadcast crew, he had the opportunity to interview his father, Doc. While many expected a serious conversation between the two, it turned into a hilarious scene.

"Doc, you guys are 8-6 on the year," Austin said.

"Doc? That's my name?" Doc hilariously responded.

"Tonight," Austin replied. "Have you watched on the bench, and are you excited about me tonight kind of hovering around your huddles?"

"You've hovered around me my whole life," Doc humorously said. "So, this part will be easy, right? I'm hoping. Don't say anything that you shouldn't say."

"Last but not least, most importantly, why couldn't you have gotten me a mid-level contract this summer? How dare you?" Austin jokingly jabbed at his dad.

Based on that interview alone, one could already tell that Austin and Doc have great chemistry together. Their banter is what could make the show a lot more interesting this coming season.