Doc Rivers' 'Disconnect' with Bucks Revealed in Report, Called Out Kyle Kuzma and Players In Meeting

Amid an uncertain future for Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, details have emerged about what went wrong for the team during the 2025-26 campaign.

ESPN's Shams Charania highlighted a film session during the season in which Rivers made bold declarations and called out veteran forward Kyle Kuzma's "miscues" from games. Team sources told Charania that the session "was among a number of instances that rubbed large parts of the locker room the wrong way and continued the theme of a season-long disconnect between Rivers and the players."

"I took teams to the playoffs and to the championship that weren't supposed to. I thought this was one of them," Rivers told players in the session, per Charania. "Either you're with us or against us. If you're not playing hard, we're not playing you anymore. I know everything that goes on in this building."

According to Charania, Rivers showed clips of Kuzma's "miscues" in recent games before holding him out of the Bucks' 27-point home loss to the Boston Celtics later that night. It was the first time in Kuzma's career that he missed a game with the designation of DNP-Coach's Decision.

Ahead of a game against the Chicago Bulls, the coaching staff once again failed to get the players to buy into what it was preaching. Lead guards Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. were expected to take the reins while star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo worked through multiple injuries throughout the year, but that's not how it played out.

"The coaching staff's message was meant to be a rallying cry. It was also meant to empower Rollins and Porter to play as leaders, according to team sources," Charania explained. "The messages did not seem to be getting through, and the team felt splintered in the postgame locker room, however, and that led to a players-only meeting."

During the meeting, players reportedly "made points to each other and called out one another to try to overcome their rut." Multiple sources told Charania that Kuzma "told teammates, specifically Rollins and Porter, that they can't take what was said to heart, not to worry about the coaches and to be their best selves moving forward." That message got back to the coaching staff ahead of his DNP-CD against the Celtics.

NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that the Bucks are already eyeing a replacement for Rivers, so it seems like his time in Milwaukee will be coming to an end in the coming days.