ESPN’s Austin Rivers Slams The Casting Choices In Hulu Series ‘Clipped’

Bruce Haring

12 June 2024 at 7:33 pm·2-min read

ESPN basketball analyst and former NBA player Austin Rivers is apparently no fan of the theory of the willing suspension of disbelief.

The son of former Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers took some time on his Off Guard podcast to rip into the new Hulu series, Clipped. The program is based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast The Sterling Affairs, which depicted the time when former team owner Donald Sterling was caught on tape making derogatory racial remarks.

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In a clip posted on Instagram, Rivers took issue with the casting of several actors, starting with guard Stephen Curry: “That is Stephen Santiago. That’s, like, the third baseman for the Padres. Who the hell is that guy?”

He also had something to say about the casting selection for Clippers star Blake Griffin (“This is really bad. The guy’s hairline’s receding already, and he looks just nothing like Blake”) and J. Alphonse Nicholson’s impression of point guard Chris Paul: “That is my local A/C man, Frederick. Who is this? Who the hell is that?”

Sheldon Bailey as Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was mocked as well. “There’s no effort in this. That looks nothing like DJ.”

Surprisingly, the only one to avoid most of the slams was the man playing Rivers’s father, Doc Rivers.

“Laurence Fishburne is a legend, and he’s a great actor,” Rivers said, before adding, “The body of my father is just a little bit different. I’m not saying he’s 100% in shape, but he’s built a little different than Laurence Fishburne. We could’ve done a little AI or something there.”

Clipped also stars Ed O’Neill as Sterling, with Cleopatra Coleman as his assistant V. Stiviano.

Coming up: Austin Rivers is portrayed later in the series. We await his critique.

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