Doc Rivers Leaves Bucks Coaching Position
Sources close to the situation confirm that Doc Rivers will leave his position as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are preparing for their third head coaching search in three years. The franchise will have to pay Rivers his eight-figure salary for the 2026-27 season. Currently, the possibility of Rivers taking on an advisory role within the organization is being discussed. This change marks the beginning of a summer of modifications for the Bucks, after Rivers recorded a 97-103 record during his three seasons in Milwaukee. The team suffered two eliminations in the first round of the playoffs and failed to qualify for the postseason or the play-in tournament this season. Team sources revealed a disconnect that lasted the entire season between Rivers and the players, including incidents that generated discomfort in the locker room.Rivers took over as Bucks coach in late January 2024, replacing Adrian Griffin, who had achieved a 30-13 record before being fired. Rivers guided the Bucks to a 17-19 record to finish the 2023-24 campaign. In the 2024-25 season, Rivers’ first full season, Milwaukee had a 48-34 record. Rivers faced injuries to key players in each season. Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo missed games in the 2024 and 2025 playoffs, and Antetokounmpo was only healthy for 36 games in the 2025-26 season. Rivers, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2026 and led the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to an NBA championship, ranks sixth all-time among NBA coaches in regular season wins and fourth all-time in playoff wins. This season, the Bucks broke a streak of nine consecutive postseason appearances. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. Milwaukee won the 2021 championship under the direction of Mike Budenholzer, who was fired in 2023.The season didn’t turn out as I wished, obviously. I always say I could have done a better job. We could have had better health. We could have had all kinds of things. I’m not one to look back much. All you can do is look forward. We did a lot of things to improve many of the young people. Unfortunately, that was the path that was presented to us, and we followed it.
Doc Rivers
