Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers have been through a lot together. They won a championship during the Big Three era in Boston, and had countless other playoff battles against LeBron James and various other Eastern Conference foes. Those Celtics days are planted firmly in their rear-view mirror now, but given Doc’s nepotistic tendencies and a quasi-self-destructive weakness for nostalgia, Pierce became the latest in a long line of Rivers’ retreads to hop on board the Clippers ship this summer.
But unlike, say, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Nate Robinson, or Hedo Turkoglu, Pierce is still a viable NBA player and veteran presence who brings championship experience to a squad sorely lacking in that department. He and Doc not only share a singular vision of winning one more title together before Pierce calls it quits; they also share a birthday, which happens to be Tuesday.
And according to each of them, that isn’t the only thing they have in common. Via Ray Samora of Clips Nation:
“Maybe it’s just the way we are,” Pierce said of their similar traits. “Maybe it’s our signs. We’re both Libras, so Libras kind of clash, I’ve noticed. My mom is a Libra and I used to clash with her a lot. I didn’t really appreciate her until I got older. I think as I got older with Doc, I learned to appreciate him also.”
“We’re born on the same day, so I think we’re both the same guy,” Rivers said. “By the end of the year, I remember him walking in the office and he says, ‘I’m doing what you want, and you’re right,’ and he bought into it. It helped him, but he didn’t have to do that, because he was already an All-Star. He could’ve clearly said, ‘I’m already an All-Star, I’m not changing.’
Rivers, 54, and Pierce, 38, along with the rest of the Clippers, are currently in China for a handful of preseason games. Up next, they play the Charlotte Hornets in Shanghai on Wednesday.
