Rivers predicted stardom for Hamilton's Gilgeous-Alexander, but says Thunder star has exceeded expectations

Doc Rivers says he saw star potential in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while coaching him as a rookie before the Los Angeles Clippers traded him to Oklahoma City.

But the veteran coach concedes that Gilgeous-Alexander, of Hamilton, Ont., has drastically outperformed those expectations.

"I don't think anybody in the world saw this in him," said Rivers, who coached the Clippers from 2013 to 2020. "We did think he was going to be really, really good. I thought he was going to be a star. I said it when we traded him. But to see this, I don't think anyone can honestly say they knew he was going to be this special."

Rivers was speaking before his Milwaukee Bucks lost 121-105 to Gilgeous-Alexander's Western Conference-leading Thunder on Sunday night.

The Clippers included Gilgeous-Alexander as part of the package to bring nine-time All-Star Paul George to Los Angeles in the summer of 2019. The acquisition of George helped the Clippers also land Kawhi Leonard in free agency after he had just led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title.

At the time of the trade, Gilgeous-Alexander was coming off a rookie season in which he had averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds while starting 73 games. The three-time All-Star took his game to another level with Oklahoma City and now is considered one of the top candidates for this season's MVP award along with Denver's Nikola Jokic.

Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, is averaging an NBA-leading 33 points and has scored at least 20 points in 62 consecutive games.

"I had him his rookie year, the one thing I loved about him, the game has never gone fast for him," Rivers said. "He's always been able to play at a pretty good pace, and now he's just getting better at it."

He continued strengthening his MVP