Rivers leaving Bucks

Doc Rivers is leaving the Milwaukee Bucks after the team finished 32-50 and missed both the playoffs and the play-in tournament. (espn.com) The split came Sunday night, April 12, minutes after Milwaukee closed its season with a loss in Philadelphia. ESPN reported the Bucks and Rivers are also discussing whether he could shift into an advisory role. (espn.com) Milwaukee ended 11th in the Eastern Conference at 32-50, 28 games behind first-place Detroit and one spot outside the 10-team play-in field. The Bucks went 19-22 at home, 13-28 on the road and finished 3-7 in their last 10 games. (espn.com) Rivers took over in late January 2024 after Adrian Griffin was fired despite a 30-13 start. Rivers went 17-19 to finish that season, then 48-34 in 2024-25, before the Bucks fell to 32-50 in 2025-26. (espn.com) (nba.com) The change makes this Milwaukee’s third coaching search in three years. The Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer in May 2023, two years after he led the franchise to its first National Basketball Association title since 1971. (nba.com) The stakes around this offseason are higher because Milwaukee built around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to chase another title, not to miss the postseason entirely. Antetokounmpo said after the finale that whether he returns next season is “not up to me.” (usatoday.com) Lillard’s health has hovered over the team’s timeline since he tore his left Achilles tendon in April 2025 and underwent surgery. ESPN reported then that the injury ended his season and put 2025-26 in jeopardy because of the long recovery. (espn.com) Rivers leaves Milwaukee with a 97-103 record across parts of three seasons. For a franchise that changed coaches to stay in contention around Antetokounmpo, the next hire now lands in the middle of a much bigger reset. (espn.com)