Bucks center Myles Turner disclosed the lack of discipline among the team under Rivers’ command; Yankee Scores reports.
Turner said Doc Rivers never fined anyone despite Giannis being a habitual latecomer.
A Culture of Tardiness
“Guys were late all the time,” Turner told New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart on their “Game Recognize Game” podcast.
“Guys were showing up to film whenever they wanted to show up. Guys were missing meetings. It was one of the craziest things I personally ever experienced.”
The “Giannis Rule”
He claimed Giannis took advantage of that laxity.
“Giannis. Giannis is going to show up whenever he wants, really,” Turner said. “I think that this kind of just came with the territory that — and once I saw it was going down, I was like, ‘Hey man, s—, more power to you. They ain’t going to fine you. S—, do what you do.'”
Myles, who signed the four-year contract worth $108.9 million with Bucks last summer after being released from the Indiana Pacers, shared that he had realized not to mind punctuality during the course of the season.
“It was crazy, dawg,” he said. “Guys were an hour late to the plane. It got to the point where I knew not to show up until an hour after they said the plane was taking off. It was crazy.”
Doc Rivers’ Exit
On April 13, Bucks’ management announced that Rivers wouldn’t come back as their head coach after the disappointing 32-50 season, which ended Bucks’ nine-year streak of making it to the playoffs.
It was rumored at the time that Rivers and Bucks considered giving him an adviser position.
Before even resigning, there was a season-long disagreement between Doc Rivers and his team members, which included low-energy practices and an argumentative March meeting, in which he told everyone, “it was either you’re with me or against me.”
Giannis on His Way Out
Turner’s comments come after the team made efforts to figure out their future, considering their all-star Giannis Antetokounmpou, who once helped his team claim the NBA championship in 2021. According to sources in the NBA and Milwaukee, they are ready to talk about trades regarding the two-time NBA MVP.
Antetokounmpou said it is time for him to leave, while Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam claimed that things should be resolved ahead of NBA draft on June 23-24.
The Taylor Jenkins Era
Bucks have hired Taylor Jenkins, former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, who used to serve as a helper in Milwaukee, for filling the position. And Turner wonders how things will go in terms of discipline from now on.
“Any other team I’ve been on, guys got fined. And there was a sense of order and a sense of understanding,” Turner said on the podcast. “So yeah, you’re late to the plane? Fine. You’re late to treatment? Fine. You’re late to film? Fine. But I personally did not experience that last year for the first time in my career. So we’ll see what Taylor Jenkins does, our new coach.”


