© Rob Gray/Imagn
The Milwaukee Bucks began the 2025-26 NBA season with playoff and perhaps even championship aspirations. But the season quickly and dramatically went off the rails, and now head coach Doc Rivers is left shouldering the blame.
Milwaukee sits at 31-47 and has long since been eliminated from playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Bucks have shut down superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo despite Antetokounmpo’s claims that he’s healthy and wants to play.
So, where did things go wrong?
A new report from ESPN’s Shams Charania states that things began with a team meeting where Rivers attempted to motivate his players, but instead just made them angry.
Doc Rivers Told His Players That He Could Drag Them To The Playoffs
On March 2, the Bucks sat just outside the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference after a loss to the Chicago Bulls. Rivers reportedly called a team meeting in hopes of rallying the troops.
The result, however, was the complete opposite.
Rivers allegedly “started the meeting by imploring his players to look up his résumé,” several people in the room told ESPN.
“I took teams to the playoffs and to the championship that weren’t supposed to. I thought this was one of them,” Rivers allegedly told players. “Either you’re with us or against us. If you’re not playing hard, we’re not playing you anymore.
“I know everything that goes on in this building.”
Notably, Rivers has not made the conference finals since 2012 despite coaching strong rosters in both Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
Milwaukee is 4-15 since that meeting.
Meanwhile, it appears that Antetokounmpo may well have played his final game for the franchise, even if Rivers is unlikely to return.
So not only did Doc Rivers put the final nail in the coffin of the Bucks’ 2025-26 season, he may well have sunk the franchise for the foreseeable future in the process.