Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a sports analyst for ESPN.
In the 2012 NBA draft, Rivers was selected with the 10th overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), playing three seasons there before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sources: As a freshman, Rivers played in Duke's exhibition games in China and Dubai during an international tour in August 2011.
In the first game against the China men's national basketball team, Rivers scored 18 points on 8–19 shooting and led Duke to a 77–64 victory.
In the second game (also against the Chinese national team), Rivers scored 12 points in a 78–66 victory, making several dunks during the first half.
In the final game played in Beijing, Rivers chipped in 11 points as Duke topped the Chinese, 93–78.
On February 8, 2012, his three-point basket as time expired allowed Duke to overcome an 82–72 deficit with two minutes to play in an 85–84 victory over the University of North Carolina.
[12] On March 16, 2012, Rivers' college career ended in the "Round of 64" of the NCAA tournament, when Duke lost to Lehigh University.
[13] On March 26, 2012, Rivers declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.
[16] On October 31, 2012, Rivers made his NBA debut in the Hornets' season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.
[18] On March 6, 2013, he broke his hand and subsequently required surgery that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
[20] On April 12, 2014, Rivers recorded season highs in points and rebounds with 20 and 10, respectively, in the Pelicans' 111–104 loss to the Houston Rockets.
[26] On January 16, Rivers made his debut for the Clippers and became the first son to play for his father in an NBA game.
[28] On May 8, he scored a playoff career-high 25 points in the Clippers' 124–99 victory that gave them a 2–1 lead in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Houston Rockets.
[32] On April 29, Rivers recorded 21 points and eight assists against the Portland Trail Blazers in game 6 of their first-round playoff series.
[51] On August 9, 2020, Rivers scored a career-high 41 points off the bench and the Rockets used a big third quarter to pull away and cruise to a 129–112 victory over the Sacramento Kings in the Orlando bubble.
Rivers made six 3-pointers as Houston improved to 4–1 at Disney on a night the Rockets played a second straight game without Russell Westbrook, who had a bruised right quadriceps.
[55] On April 20, 2021, the Denver Nuggets signed Rivers to a 10-day contract[56] following a season ending injury sustained by Jamal Murray.
His older brother, Jeremiah, played basketball for Georgetown and Indiana and later joined the Maine Red Claws, while his older sister Callie played volleyball for the University of Florida and is married to his former Duke teammate and current Charlotte Hornets player Seth Curry.