Milwaukee Bucks head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers has stepped down from coaching, the Bucks announced April 13. The Bucks went 32-50 on the season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.
“It has been an honor to have Doc as our coach and as a leader in our organization and community,” Bucks owners Wes Edens, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and Jamie Dinan said in a statement released by the team Monday morning “In addition to his impact on the court, we’re thankful for Doc’s class and professionalism during his tenure in Milwaukee.”
Rivers had one additional year worth about $11 million remaining on the four-year deal he signed when he was hired on Jan. 26, 2024.
Rivers, 64, was hired in the middle of the 2023-24 season after the team fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin when the team was 30-13. Rivers was the lead color analyst for ESPN at the time.
“I have truly loved my time in Milwaukee,” Rivers said in the team’s statement. “Coming back to where I got my start, to a city that has always embraced me, has been a privilege. I am disappointed that things did not turn out the way any of us hoped, but I am deeply grateful for this experience, the relationships built, and unwavering support from our fans and the community. Milwaukee will always mean a lot to me, and this chapter will hold a special place in my heart.”
Rivers inherited a team that was the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, three games behind Boston in the loss column, and ultimately coached the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game. The Bucks finished the season 17-19 under Rivers, however, and dropped to the fourth seed in the East. They were bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the Indiana Pacers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play in that series with a calf strain. Damian Lillard missed two games and was severely hampered in four others due to injuries to his right Achilles tendon and left knee. Khris Middleton turned in an exceptional playoff performance but wound up needing offseason surgery on both ankles.
Last season, the Bucks rebounded from a 2-8 start to finish 48-34.
The highlight of the season was winning the NBA Cup in December 2024. The Bucks joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams to win both an NBA Cup and NBA championship, and Rivers became the first head coach to win both titles.
Milwaukee eventually finished fifth in the conference playoff standings, though, marking its worst record and playoff seeding since 2017-18.
The Bucks once again were bounced by Indiana in the first round of the playoffs, this time in five games. Antetokounmpo was available, but Lillard missed Game 1 with a blood clot in his right calf and then tore his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 4.
“Well, there is nothing you can do about injuries,” Rivers said April 29, 2025 after the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year. “Three years in a row, our one or two; last year both guys were basically out and this year Dame was basically out even though he played in a game and a half, two games. But this is all part of it. It is what it is, you know. It’s unfortunate. I would love this team full. I really do. I would love this team if Dame were healthy and all that, but that wasn’t in the cards this year for us.”
Rivers finished his tenure in Milwaukee with a 97-103 regular-season record and a 3-8 mark in the playoffs. It was the only stop in his 27-year coaching career in which he finished with a record below .500. Rivers has a career coaching record of 1,194-866 (.579) and passed Phil Jackson and George Karl for sixth all time in wins while with the Bucks.
He was voted into the Naismith Hall of Fame on April 4.
Rivers, a Marquette University alumnus, has coached in Orlando, Boston, the Los Angeles Clippers and in Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Doc Rivers steps down as Bucks head coach
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
