Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers didn't need a crystal ball to make a bold prediction before Wednesday night's season opener at Wells Fargo Center.

It wasn't even his nearly 40 years of NBA experience that helped Rivers, now in his first full season leading the Milwaukee Bucks, guarantee a result against the Sixers.

It was his personal connection to Sixers center Andre Drummond.

“You know, he thinks he’s a great passer,” Rivers said during a pregame press conference. “You know, he’s going to throw a back-cut pass today; 100% guaranteed. Hopefully it doesn't come through. Otherwise he’ll stare at me.”

Rivers coached Drummond in Philly after the 6-foot-10 center from Middletown, Connecticut, was signed in 2021.

However, the couple was already known before. Rivers legally adopted Adam Jones shortly before Jones became Drummond's high school teammate. Jones and Drummond first met while playing against each other at the Walt Disney World sports complex in Florida.

Jones was an AAU teammate of Austin Rivers, Doc's son. Rivers became Jones' legal guardian after Jones' uncle, who needed a kidney transplant, was unable to provide stability at home.

Drummond played at St. Thomas More, a private school in rural Connecticut with a rich basketball tradition. A few weeks after that fateful meeting in Florida, and at the suggestion of Drummond and his mother, Jones also enrolled at St. Thomas More.

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Now Drummond refers to Jones as “the big brother I never had.”

So keep an eye on Drummond tonight, who will start at center in place of Joel Embiid, who the Sixers say will miss the first three games of the season as he rests his left knee. Of all the roster moves that occurred during Rivers' time in Philly, the loss of Drummond to Brooklyn in 2022 as part of the Ben Simmons-James Harden deal bothered him the most, he said.

“He’s just a good guy in the locker room,” Rivers said of the four-time NBA rebounding champion. “The stars are the stars, but you love it when all the other role players are just good people who are easy to coach. Pretty. No drama, and Drum does it all.

“He also rebounds very well. … But he just has a good presence. I'll talk to him in the summer. He's just a good guy. He's a guy you want on your team. He’s a guy you want in the locker room.”