Austin Rivers says refs are what make Steph Curry the hardest player to guard
By Ian Levy
Austin Rivers was a quote machine on The Ringer podcasts, taking shots at the highlight culture, Steph Curry, NBA refs and more.
Austin Rivers has just two episodes under his belt as a podcast host for The Ringer and he’s already a certified quote machine. In the first episode of his new show, Off Guard, he called out “highlight culture” for the decline of the game:
“When I played HS, you only got a mixtape if you were a top-tier guy. It was an honor to have a Ballislife mix…The landscape has changed now. Parents are paying people to come, everyone gets a mixtape & looks at the camera.”
Of course, Rivers neglected to mention the fact that much of his NBA career could be attributed to nepotism and highlight culture, hype over who he was as much as what he’d done. But those comments are fairly tame compared to his second episode.
What did Austin Rivers say about Steph Curry and NBA refs?
When asked who the hardest player to guard in the NBA was, Austin Rivers didn’t hesitate:
“Steph… it’s not even close… you can’t touch him, they give him every f****** call, they set illegal screens for him the entire game… they don’t call it cause they want to see him shoot.”
If Rivers is to be believed a good deal of Steph Curry’s success is to be attributed to illegal screens and preferential treatment from refs because of a leaguewide conspiracy to let him shoot. Not, you know, the brilliantly tight handles, the unlimited shooting range that necessitates absurdly tight defense. the brilliant offensive creativity, immaculate understanding of open space and how to both use it and create it.
It’s all the refs.
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