Pat Riley was one of the NBA’s most renowned coaches before moving to the front office full time. Doc Rivers played for him for 2 ½ seasons with the New York Knicks during the early 1990s. “I guess I would say I’ve been a lucky player,” Rivers said, “because I played for Mike Fratello, who’s a defensive genius. I followed that up with Larry Brown. I followed that up with Pat Riley. And I go to San Antonio and [Gregg Popovich] is in the front office. That’s where our relationship started. So I’ve been around some pretty good guys. But Riley clearly had the biggest impact. It’s not even close.”