Bucks Eye Taylor Jenkins as Doc Rivers Replacement
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- Doc Rivers was officially named to the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame class on Saturday, capping a nearly three-decade coaching career that included a 2008 title with the Boston Celtics — the same weekend his tenure as Bucks head coach appears to be ending.
- Per Marc Stein, there is "an anticipation that Bucks coach Doc Rivers and the franchise could be heading for some sort of parting or job restructuring" after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign, with a front office role emerging as a possible alternative to outright firing.
- Taylor Jenkins, the former Memphis Grizzlies head coach, has "already emerged as a likely prime candidate" to replace Rivers, and brings organizational familiarity from his assistant coaching days under Mike Budenholzer in both Atlanta and Milwaukee.
- Rivers is under contract through next season and owed a substantial sum — large enough that teammate Bobby Portis recently joked Rivers "wouldn't retire to give it up."
- The Milwaukee Bucks are missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, going just 17-19 with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor this season, despite fielding one of basketball's most efficient shot-making offenses.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo's future is directly tied to the coaching decision: governor Wes Edens has already said the star will either be extended or traded this offseason, guaranteeing a roster overhaul regardless of who is on the Milwaukee sideline next season.
Why it matters: Whoever becomes the next Bucks head coach — likely Taylor Jenkins — will inherit a franchise-defining offseason in which Giannis Antetokounmpo is either extended or traded, per governor Wes Edens. Rivers' remaining contract is large enough that teammate Bobby Portis joked he 'wouldn't retire to give it up,' making a clean exit financially complicated for Milwaukee.
