Doc Rivers misunderstood his reputation with young players

In March, Doc Rivers tried to motivate his young Milwaukee Bucks players by telling them to look up his resume. He may have not anticipated what a Google search would have said about him.

As the Bucks faced a do-or-die stretch of games for their play-in chances, Rivers apparently failed to get through to young players like Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. Rivers may see himself an inspirational leader who works miracles, but his recent coaching history has been more about playoff disappointments.

Doc Rivers' recent history is not inspiring

The last time Rivers took a team to the NBA Finals was in 2010, when Rollins was seven years old. He won his only title in 2008, when Porter was eight. Young players are more likely to remember Rivers falling short.

In 2012, Rivers' Celtics blew a 3-2 lead to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2015, Rivers was coaching the Los Angeles Clippers when they lost after leaving the series, 3-1, dropping a game they led by 19 points late in Game 6. In 2020, Rivers and the Clippers dropped another 3-1 series lead, falling to the Denver Nuggets.

Despite regularly leading rosters featuring multiple All-Stars, Rivers hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs in the last 16 seasons. He's more known for his poor performance in close-out games than he is for leading undermanned teams to success, like when his Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics after taking a 3-2 lead in 2023. 

Rivers, 64, may not realize that in 2026, a Google search prioritizes recent results. 

Doc Rivers sounds resigned to leaving the Bucks

After a trying season where star Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered injuries and clashed with the organization, Rivers may not be part of the likely upcoming rebuild in Milwaukee.

Tuesday night, he acknowledge as much. When reporters asked him about his future before the Bucks' 96-90 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Rivers said, "I won't answer that, but I have grandkids that I want to see. I'll put it that way. I'll let you figure it out from there."

Rivers will go into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. He seemed ready to walk away from coaching in 2023, when he took an announcing job with ESPN, but the Bucks' unexpected coaching vacancy and the chance to work with Antetokounmpo brought him back.

Besides, the Bucks will have to pay his salary for 2026-27 if he's fired. He will have plenty of time to see his grandkids if he doesn't coach next season, and they can teach Rivers about search engine optimization. Then when he tells young people to Google him, they might see Rivers' glory days instead of his failures.