Sources: Rivers out after three years with Bucks

Doc Rivers is departing as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

The Bucks will embark on their third head coaching search in three years. The Bucks will pay Rivers his eight-figure salary for the 2026-27 season. The franchise and Rivers are discussing whether he will move to an advisory role in the organization, sources said.

This starts a summer of change for the Bucks after Rivers went 97-103 during his three seasons in Milwaukee, with two first-round playoff exits and missing the postseason and play-in tournament this season.

Team sources said there was a season-long disconnect between Rivers and the players, including instances that annoyed the locker room.

“[The season] didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, obviously,” Rivers said after Milwaukee dropped to 32-50 with a loss to the 76ers on Sunday. “I always say I could do a better job. We could have had better health. We could have had all kinds of things. I’m not a big guy at looking back. All you can do is look forward. We did a lot of things to improve a lot of the young guys. Unfortunately, that was the road that kind of presented itself for us, and we did that.”

Rivers took over as coach for the Bucks in late January 2024, replacing Adrian Griffin, who had gone 30-13 before being fired. Rivers guided the Bucks to a 17-19 mark to finish the 2023-24 campaign. Milwaukee went 48-34 in Rivers’ first full season in 2024-25. 

Rivers dealt with injuries to his top players in each season. Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo missed time in the 2024 and 2025 playoffs, and Antetokounmpo was healthy for just 36 games in 2025-26.

Rivers, who was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 and led the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to an NBA championship, ranks sixth all time among NBA coaches in regular-season wins and fourth all time in career playoff victories.

The Bucks snapped a streak of nine consecutive postseason appearances this season. They have not won a playoff series since 2022. 

Milwaukee won the 2021 championship under Mike Budenholzer, who was let go in 2023.

ESPN’s Jamal Collier contributed to this report.