Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers’ future with the organization is reportedly set to be decided in the near future as rumors swirl about the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Bucks governors Jimmy Haslam and Wes Edens will make a call on Rivers’ status “in the next week.”
Rivers has been the Bucks’ head coach for parts of three seasons, and although he took them to the playoffs in his first two campaigns, Milwaukee is just 31-47 this season, and Rivers is only 96-100 overall during his time with the Bucks.
The 64-year-old Rivers is a highly respected figure in NBA circles, as he was a one-time All-Star in 13 seasons as a player before spending 27 seasons as a head coach with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Bucks.
With a record of 1,193-863, Rivers boasts a regular-season winning percentage of .580. He is also 114-112 in 226 career postseason games.
Rivers is sixth on the all-time regular-season wins list and fourth in career playoff wins. He also led the Celtics to an NBA championship in 2008, all of which contributed to him being selected for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2026.
His tenure in Milwaukee has seemed ill-fated from the start, though, as he shockingly replaced Adrian Griffin during the 2023-24 season despite the Bucks having a 30-13 record at the time.
The Bucks went just 17-19 the rest of the way under Rivers and fell to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.
While the team fared a bit better under Rivers last season with a 48-34 mark, the result was ultimately the same, as the Pacers ousted them in the first round of the playoffs again.
Despite back-to-back first-round playoff exits under Rivers, the Bucks brought him back this season, and they doubled down on their core by re-signing Kevin Porter Jr., Bobby Portis and Gary Trent Jr., and retaining superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They also added longtime Pacers center Myles Turner to the mix as a free-agent signing, but the team never jelled into the contender that the front office was hoping for.
Giannis being limited to 36 games due to injury undoubtedly contributed heavily to the team’s struggles, but even when Antetokounmpo played this season, the Bucks were still only a 17-19 team.
Per Charania, decision-makers in the Bucks organization “have come to terms with the inevitability of a likely deal coming to fruition this offseason,” in reference to Antetokounmpo.
If the Bucks plan on trading away the face of the franchise and shaking the team up significantly, a coaching change would make sense as well, which suggests Rivers could perhaps be in the final days of his time as the head coach in Milwaukee.