Doc Rivers was at a charity function one year ago in Los Angeles when he looked up to an unexpected sight: the arrival of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant.
Some of Bryant’s most memorable clashes during his 20 years starring for the Lakers had come against Celtics teams coached by Rivers. Back and forth they went in 2008 for six games in the NBA Finals until Boston prevailed, and before Bryant left the court, he stood and talked with Rivers amid the confetti.
“He’s crying and I’m hugging him and we’re talking and I can feel not only his tears, I can feel his revenge anger in that moment,” Rivers said by phone last week.