Laurence Fishburne Had ‘No Idea Who Doc Rivers Was’ Before ‘Clipped’

Sometimes it’s hard for those of us that love sports and spend a lot of our time in the sports world to remember just how many people are completely disinterested in sports.

We get glimpses of that at times through things like viral Jeopardy! clips of people failing to come up with fairly basic sports trivia answers, but the reminders almost always feel stunning to those of us that live in it. The latest example comes in the form of an entertainment and sports crossover, Laurence Fishburne, who stars as Doc Rivers in FX’s Clipped series about the Clippers amid the Donald Sterling scandal, explained to Dan Patrick that he had no idea who Doc Rivers was when he got called about the show.

As Fishburne explained, being unaware of who Rivers was before he took on the part made it easier to play the role, as he had “no preconceived notion” of who Rivers was or what he was like, allowing him to fully immerse himself in the character and simply learn something fresh for the part. He was able to get Rivers’ number through a mutual friend and invited him to a Labor Day party at his house, where he said Rivers got into a lengthy debate with a friend about Bill Russell being the greatest player of all-time, with Fishburne watched intently to get some real insight into Rivers’ mannerisms.

The casting of Clipped, particularly the players, has been the source of a lot of jokes, including from Doc’s son, Austin Rivers. Fishburne’s portrayal mostly had Austin noting his dad is in a bit better shape than he’s shown in the show, and I think many would question whether Fishburne really nailed the trademark Doc Rivers voice, even if he feels he did and it wasn’t difficult.