Doc Rivers reportedly out as Bucks head coach after team collapsed during miserable 2025-26 season
Doc Rivers is out in Milwaukee after failing to deliver another championship to the city.
The Milwaukee Bucks are moving forward without head coach Doc Rivers. The team reportedly split with Rivers on Sunday after going 32-50 during a miserable 2025-26 NBA season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania . The decision ends Rivers’ two-and-a-half seasons with the team.
Rivers had one final season left on his initial contract with the Bucks. Expectations were exceptionally high when Rivers was hired as the team’s replacement for Adrian Griffin, who was fired during the 2023-24 NBA season despite leading the team to a 30-13 record. At the time, Bucks general manager Jon Horst said Rivers was brought in to push the team to another championship, and cited “urgency” as one of the reasons Griffin was let go despite a strong record.
Rivers and the Bucks went 17-19 down the stretch and lost in the first round of the playoffs that season. Rivers experienced more success the following year, posting a 48-34 record with the team — one loss fewer than the previous season. The Bucks once again lost in the first round of the playoffs.
While both results were disappointing, especially considering why the team hired Rivers in the first place, things really fell apart this season. After an offseason of indecision, the Bucks ultimately decided to hold onto superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. It proved to be a terrible choice.