Months after Giannis Antetokounmpo left Milwaukee, his former coach is offering a blunt look at how it happened. The comments offer a rare inside view of a breakup that dominated the league for more than a year.
Former Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted out of Milwaukee but kept going back and forth instead of publicly asking for a trade, in a podcast episode released Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.
What did Doc Rivers say about the trade?
Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Rivers said Antetokounmpo wanted to leave but did not want to be the bad guy. Instead, Rivers said, the star wanted the team’s general manager and owner to tell him he was being traded rather than requesting it himself.
Doc Rivers described that dynamic as the game being played behind the scenes.
Throughout last season, Antetokounmpo told several outlets, including ESPN, that he was committed to the Bucks and would never demand a trade. But he and his agent had told the team since May 2025 that he wanted a trade and believed parting ways was best for both sides, according to reports.
How did the Bucks trade Antetokounmpo?
Milwaukee sent Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat this summer for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three picks in the first round, a pick swap and a pick in the second round.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA championship, and the questions about his future overshadowed Milwaukee’s 2025 to 2026 season. He spent his entire career in Milwaukee before the trade and became the franchise’s greatest player.
What did Doc Rivers say about Antetokounmpo’s game?
Doc Rivers said he liked Antetokounmpo a lot, especially as a person, but called him a difficult player to coach because of his relentless attacking style.
Rivers said the star has great passing ability but not the same level of basketball IQ, and that his approach is to force the issue on every play. He called the combination a strange thing for a player of his talent.
He said he wished Antetokounmpo had learned to execute better and given more of himself to the team as a leader. Doc Rivers said the star now has a coach in Miami, Erik Spoelstra, who is as good as anyone at teaching execution.
How are the Heat doing with Antetokounmpo?
Miami has started slowly, with three wins and six losses after a 120 to 100 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Heat lost Antetokounmpo’s first game with the team to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Antetokounmpo leads the team with 27.3 points and 12.7 rebounds a game. He has remained productive even as the team struggles to find its footing.
It was not immediately clear whether Antetokounmpo had responded to the comments. Some fans have defended the star, noting his loyalty to Milwaukee over more than a decade.
What is Doc Rivers doing now?
Rivers coached the Bucks for three seasons, winning 97 games and losing 103, with two exits in the first round of the playoffs. Milwaukee missed the postseason last season for the first time since 2015 to 2016, and the team said the day after the regular season ended that he would not return.
Rivers, who won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, joined NBC as an NBA analyst in September and said he has no plans to coach again.
His candid comments add a new chapter to one of the biggest stories in the NBA, and Doc Rivers is unlikely to be the last voice to weigh in.
