Austin Rivers

Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Rivers led Winter Park High School to back-to-back Florida 6A state championships in 2010 and 2011.

In September 2010, Rivers committed to Duke University.

In 2010, Rivers led Winter Park High School to the school's first state title in a 76–57 win against Dr. Phillips High School in the 6A state championship.

Rivers scored 23 points in the game.

In June 2010, Rivers was a part of the gold medal-winning team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship where he set a Team USA record for an U18 event with 35 points against Canada.

On August 5, 2010, Rivers was named to the fifth annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 game, where he was named co-MVP after he had 25 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

On September 30, 2010, Rivers committed to Duke University.

He officially signed with the program on November 16, 2010.

He also played in the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit for the Team USA, and was a McDonald's All-American.

He was one of the top rated high school basketball players in the class of 2011, being rated as high as No. 1 by Rivals.com.

His commitment was widely covered by ESPN and various other sports networks given his status as the Class of 2011's top recruit.

On March 5, 2011, Rivers led Winter Park to back to back Florida 6A state championships with a 52–44 victory over Dr. Phillips High School, in which he had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals.

Rivers was named the 2011 Naismith Prep Player of the Year on March 10, 2011.

He was also an All-American and All-State honoree, and played in the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit for Team USA.

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.

In his team's 86–66 victory over the Dubai national team, he scored 16 points, including 10 in the second quarter, on an array of impressive drives.

In the 2012 NBA draft, he 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.

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.

The victory ended North Carolina's 31-game winning streak at the Dean Smith Center.

On March 16, 2012, Rivers' college career ended in the "Round of 64" of the NCAA tournament, when Duke lost to Lehigh University.

Rivers shot 5-of-14 from the field, while playing 34 minutes.

Lehigh led for most of the game, earning their first NCAA Tournament victory.

On March 26, 2012, Rivers declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.

Rivers was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 10th overall pick the 2012 NBA draft.

Rivers chose to wear the #25 jersey, the same number his father wore when he was in the NBA.

The night before Rivers said, "I want to be like my dad, only better."

Joining him as a rookie on the Hornets was Anthony Davis, the first overall pick of the draft.

On July 24, 2012, Rivers signed his rookie scale contract with the Hornets.

Three days later, Rivers underwent successful surgery to clean up bone spurs in his right ankle.

On October 31, 2012, Rivers made his NBA debut in the Hornets' season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

In 24 minutes as a starter, he scored 7 points on 1-of-9 shooting in a 99–95 loss.

On December 14, he scored a then career-high 27 points in a 113–102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On March 6, 2013, he broke his hand and subsequently required surgery that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

On January 16, 2015, Rivers became the first player in NBA history to play for his father, coach Doc Rivers, then-head coach of the Clippers.

After three years with the Clippers, Rivers was traded to the Washington Wizards in June 2018.

In December of the same year, he joined the Houston Rockets.