Doc Rivers bemoans injuries after Bucks are eliminated from NBA playoff race

The Milwaukee Bucks have officially been eliminated from NBA playoff contention for the 2025-26 season. The franchise had not missed the playoffs since the 2015-16 season but will now instead land in the NBA draft lottery. Center Myles Turner and the Bucks fell to 29-44 on the season after losing 127-95 to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Milwaukee is 11th in the Eastern Conference standings as of Saturday afternoon. “It's been disappointing, obviously,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “Since I've been here, I haven't had a healthy stretch and it's been your key guys.

It's been (Giannis Antetokounmpo). It's been (former Bucks guard Damian Lillard). And you hope you can play through that, but we just haven't had the ability.

” The Bucks waived Lillard before the season, and the team has been playing chunks of this season without Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo has not played since March 15, and the team has won just one of its last six games in the absence of its star player. Rivers added that he believes his team is playing at a deficit with "only one quote-unquote star" while "every other team has two and three.