The Milwaukee Bucks have fired head coach Doc Rivers after what can only be described as a disastrous season for the Bucks. This marks the first firing of a head coach as the coaching carousel officially begins
The Bucks have officially ended their season with a 32-50 record after they lost to the 76ers on Sunday. This means that they finished eleventh in the East and failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament. They will miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
To make things worse, they have been dealing with Giannis Antetokounmpo and all of his antics the entire season. People speculated that the Bucks would trade him during the season, but ultimately, no deal materialized. Now the league is investigating the Bucks about whether or not they would let Antetokounmpo play or not.
Originally, Rivers was with the Bucks in a consulting capacity under head coach Adrian Griffin late in 2023. However, Antetokounmpo essentially had Griffin fired after just 43 games in which they were 30-13. Rivers would become the head coach and would finish the season 17-19 before losing in the first round against the Pacers. In 2024, Milwaukee went 48-34 under Rivers, but again lost in the first round.
There are some rumors that Rivers will retire now. He has been coaching since 1999 and hinted that he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren. It is definitely a possibility considering the fact that there isn’t much left for him to do in basketball. Rivers was named to the Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2026, led the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to a championship, and ranks sixth all-time in regular-season wins and fourth all-time in playoff victories.
If he doesn’t retire, there is some speculation that he will stay with the Bucks. According to some reports, the franchise and Rivers are discussing whether he will move to an advisory role in the organization. Nevertheless, the Bucks will pay Rivers out on his eight-figure salary for the 2026-27 season.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the Bucks over the course of the offseason. They clearly have some key decisions to make, starting with hiring their new head coach and dealing with Antetokounmpo.
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