Doc Rivers set to leave Milwaukee Bucks after disappointing season ends without a playoff berth

After the final game of the regular season, Doc Rivers will be departing the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN.

Rivers, who was recently announced as a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, is leaving the team after a disappointing 32-50 season which will end without a playoff appearance.

The Bucks will now go on their third coaching search in three seasons at a time where star Giannis Antetokounmpo is rumored to be unsettled.

According to ESPN, Rivers and the team are in discussions over a potential advisory role in the organization. The Bucks are also set to pay Rivers his full eight-figure salary for the 2026-27 season. 

The outlet also reported there was a ‘season-long disconnect’ between the coach and his players, which included ‘instances that annoyed the locker room.’ 

Rivers arrived in Milwaukee midway through the 2023-24 season to replace Adrian Griffin, who had gone 30-13 in the role.

Rivers, who was recently named a 2026 Hall of Fame inductee, went 32-50 this season

This comes at a time where Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly unsettled in Milwaukee

Despite winning the Central Division title, under Rivers, the Bucks lost in the first round in six games to the Indiana Pacers.

The following season ended the same as the year before. Milwaukee finished third in the division, but then lost in five games to the Pacers – who would go on to lose in seven games in the NBA Finals.

This season, the Bucks underperformed as Antetokounmpo played in only 36 games due to injuries. 

They also failed to find a true replacement for Damian Lillard, who tore his Achilles in the 2025 playoffs and didn’t play again this season. Lillard was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he played for most of his career.

Rivers went a combined 97-103 with the Bucks and went 3-8 in the playoffs.

Failing to make the playoffs ended a nine-year streak of postseason play. The team has not won a series since 2022.