Doc Rivers Officially Out As Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach
The writing —a 30-52 record— was on the wall for Doc Rivers, as he’s reportedly been fired from his Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job.
“It has been an honor to have Doc as our coach and as a leader in our organization and community,” Bucks owners Wes Edens, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and Jamie Dinan said in a joint statement. “In addition to his impact on the court, we’re thankful for Doc’s class and professionalism during his tenure in Milwaukee.”
According to ESPN, Rivers may not be leaving the Bucks entirely, as he may sign on in an advisory role.
Rivers has been in charge of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led team for two and a half seasons. From the jump, he was expected to overperform because he was selected to replace Adrian Griffin, who was fired in the middle of the 2023-24 season despite starting off the campaign with a 30-13 record.
It was a controversial decision then, as Griffin’s coaching paved the way for Rivers as he finished the season 49-33. The Bucks managed to finish third in the East but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after winning only two games against the Indiana Pacers.
It was much the same in 2024-25, with a near-identical 48-34 record, but this time they fell to fifth place and were pummeled by the Pacers in five games in the first round.
Things really fell off a cliff this season as their previous wins and losses columns flipped, landing them in 11th place.
They were coming off some turmoil when Antetokounmpo was in trade talks during the offseason, though he ultimately stayed. However, his presence wasn’t as domineering as usual, low-lighted by his playing a career-low 36 games.
Early in the season, he missed games due to right calf and groin strains and was shut down in March with a bone bruise in his knee. However, he was adamant about playing, which further created a divide with the Bucks.
In a recent New York Times interview, Antetokounmpo was asked about his time with the Bucks being over, responding, “I don’t know. It’s not up to me anymore. It’s not up to me. We’ll see.”
He didn’t sugarcoat the Bucks’ dismal season either.
“We were very bad. We are the furthest away that we’ve been in the last couple of years,” he said. “How many wins did we have, 32? This is (the) second-lowest wins I’ve ever (had), right? The first was 15 (during the 2013-14 season) … so yeah, we’re the furthest away that we’ve been, I think. We’ll see. This is what we have in front of us. I didn’t think we were going to be in this position last year, so I don’t know what position we’re going to be next year. If everything goes well, hopefully, if the Bucks want me here, why not? But if they don’t, OK.”
Rivers has yet to respond to the firing, but social media has no problem jumping in. See the reactions below.
