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Doc Rivers is out as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN reported Sunday, citing sources.
Rivers left his broadcasting job to return to the NBA sidelines as the Bucks’ coach shortly after Adrian Griffin was fired 43 games into the 2023-24 season. Now, Rivers is leaving Milwaukee after a 126-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, ending a 32-50 season that ended in a missed NBA playoff berth.
Rivers coached the Bucks to first-round playoff appearances in each of the last two seasons.
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April 6, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans in the second half at the Smoothie King Center. (Stephen Lew-Imagn Photos)
The Bucks will now launch their third head coaching search in the past three years. Rivers’ departure comes amid uncertainty surrounding the future of franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers speaks to the media at a press conference during practice ahead of the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals at T-Mobile Arena. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
The NBA trade deadline passed in February without a deal involving Antetokounmpo. The two-time league MVP saw limited action in the 2025-26 season, appearing in a career-low 36 games.
Antetokounmpo dealt with knee hyperextension and bone bruising during the season. He was later sidelined for a while, fueling speculation that the Bucks shut him down despite being healthy, leading to an NBA investigation into the handling of the star forward.
Antetokounmpo’s frustration boiled over when he insisted he was healthy enough to play despite being sidelined for a 10th straight game when Milwaukee faced the Boston Celtics on April 3.
“I’ve never seen an instance of a player saying, my caliber of player, this is how – I say it publicly – I want to f—ing play. You know what I’m saying?” he said via The Athletic. “I don’t think I’ve seen this. So if there’s going to be an investigation, that’s good. There should be. I don’t know. There should be. Until we figure something out.”
He then said he was “available to play.”
Rivers addressed Antetokounmpo’s comments after the team’s 133-101 loss.
“The hard part about all of this is that I’m in the middle and I have nothing to do with it,” Rivers said. “The coaches don’t decide any of this. The problem with our league is that the coaches are the ones in front.
“And we have to sit here and answer this. I think there are two sides to this — I’ll tell you that — but I don’t want to get too involved.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo and head coach Doc Rivers of the Milwaukee Bucks speak before the third quarter against the New York Knicks at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Oct. 28, 2025. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Rivers added that he did not like that the feud had become “public”.
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Antetokounmpo averaged 27.6 points and 9.8 rebounds this season. He was named NBA Finals MVP as he helped the Bucks secure the franchise’s first championship since 1971.
Rivers coached the Celtics to the NBA title in 2008. He was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983. After retiring as a player, Rivers moved into broadcasting and called NBA games. In 1999, he was named head coach of the Orlando Magic, a role he held until 2003.
Before returning to the coaching ranks, Rivers was part of ESPN’s premier NBA broadcast team.
