Matt Barnes publicly blames Doc Rivers for breaking ‘Lob City’ Clippers by paying son Austin Rivers

The Lob City Clippers of the 2010's were the most exciting team in the league.

Matt Barnes publicly blames Doc Rivers for breaking ‘Lob City’ Clippers by paying son Austin Rivers

Matt Barnes blames Doc Rivers for breaking up Los Angeles Clippers of the Lob City era by paying his son Austin Rivers

Before the advent of the current Los Angeles Clippers super team, there was another super team which had the likes of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin as the superstars. They also had Doc Rivers as their head coach, fresh from winning an NBA Championship. But that team disappointed. Prominent role player Matt Barnes believes their head coach’s son Austin Rivers is what led to that disappointment.

The Instagram page of ‘All The Smoke Productions’ posed a question as to why the Lob City Clippers couldn’t win an NBA Championship. In the comments a fan replied that the Utah Jazz probably caused them to split up. But Matt Barnes, who was one of their most important role players, had a different response to the question.

Doc broke that sh*t up when he paid his son that money. He lost the team after that
Matt Barnes replied

Barnes criticized Doc Rivers’ decision to pay and re-sign his son, Austin Rivers, implying that this move caused a rift within the team. Barnes suggested that this decision led to a loss of trust and respect from the players, resulting in Doc Rivers losing control of the locker room.

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The Lob City Clippers were the most entertaining team in the NBA at the time. More importantly, they had the right personnel on their roster to fight for championships. But they came up short, leading many to suggest that the Clippers probably weren’t built to win a title.

Matt Barnes and the Lob City Clippers were one of the most exciting NBA teams of the decade

The Los Angeles Clippers of those times had an iconic roster. They had one of the best play managers in the league in Chris Paul. They had the most athletic big men in the league in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. More importantly, they had a sleuth of brilliant role players. Barnes, JJ Redick, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, all were part of the team in their quest of a title.

Prior to them banding together, the Clippers were at the bottom of the league. But this team changed the narrative. They suddenly became the best team in the NBA and had a style of play that others did not necessarily have an answer for.

They put together five 50+ win seasons and still hold the franchise record for most wins, something the current Los Angeles Clippers super team has not even managed to reach. Matt Barnes surely would have liked to cement that run with an NBA title. Then their legacy would have been intact.

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