{"id":707635,"date":"2026-04-10T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/707635\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T20:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T20:00:35","slug":"bucks-coach-doc-rivers-addresses-retirement-rumors-after-31-49-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/707635\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucks Coach Doc Rivers Addresses Retirement Rumors After 31-49 Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> have officially been eliminated from NBA<\/a> playoff contention in what has been one of their worst seasons in a decade. They currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 31\u201349 record.<\/p>\n

Questions about franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>\u2019s future have loomed all season, and a split now appears increasingly likely this offseason. Equally important are concerns about head coach Doc Rivers<\/a>, as many believe that Antetokounmpo’s potential departure could also lead to a coaching change.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Rivers sparked further speculation<\/a> about his future when he mentioned wanting to spend more time with his grandchildren and family in a press conference last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seven grandkids now, and they\u2019re all eight years and under, and it kills me every time I miss grandparents day with each one of them in school,\u201d he said when asked about his coaching future. \u201cIt\u2019s probably time to go see them more, so I\u2019ll let you figure out the rest.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Milwaukee<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers talks with forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

However, during an appearance on FanDuel<\/a>\u2019s Run It Back TV on Friday, he shut down those rumors and suggested he was open to returning to the Bucks next season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWell, I\u2019m leaving them open,\u201d Rivers said about his options. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say that I\u2019m retiring because I know I\u2019m not going to completely retire, no matter what happens. But I\u2019m in a great place, let me put it that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that happens, me, ownership, and the front office, we are all on the same page. We talked about this even before the season about what I want to do. I keep bringing it up because I want to make sure I\u2019m able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rivers took over as Bucks head coach in January 2024 after the surprising midseason firing of Adrian Griffin, who held a 30\u201313 record at the time. In his first full season, Rivers led the team to a 48\u201334 record and a playoff appearance, though they were swept in the first round by the Indiana Pacers<\/a>. This season, however, has been a major disappointment, leaving him with a 97\u2013103 record in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

It marks the first time the Bucks have failed to reach 40 wins since the 2015\u201316 season, and there will likely be serious discussions within the front office about Rivers\u2019 future, with ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania<\/a>\u00a0reporting last week that the Milwuakee’s front office is going to decide on his job status \u201cin the next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Rivers still has one year remaining on his 3.5-year, $40 million contract<\/a>, he understands the situation in Milwaukee is uncertain, and it may be time for him to seek a less turbulent role. But as he stated, he is keeping his options open, and even if the Bucks eventually part ways with him, he does not plan to fully retire and could return to broadcasting.<\/p>\n

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Related: Bucks’ Doc Rivers Takes Shot at Shams Charania Over ‘Inaccurate’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Report<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Apr 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Milwaukee Bucks have officially been eliminated from NBA playoff contention in what has been one of their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,2660,1409,3225,123,126,102,121,3871,6,207],"class_list":{"0":"post-707635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-doc-rivers","11":"tag-eastern-conference","12":"tag-front-office","13":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","14":"tag-indiana-pacers","15":"tag-milwaukee","16":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","17":"tag-milwaukeebucks","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-philadelphia-76ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116382193277017933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}