The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA season. On Friday night, they dropped yet another game, this one to the Denver Nuggets who did not have any of their usual starters available, by the score of 102-100. And Milwaukee needed an improbable fourth quarter rally to even make it that close.
But what made the loss all the more disheartening to Bucks fans was the fact that 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo got injured in the closing seconds of the game. Afterwards, he told reporters that he believes it is another Soleus injury and that he could miss 4-6 weeks as a result.
And while Giannis vowed to work hard to come back and help the Bucks make a run for the NBA Playoffs, head coach Doc Rivers spent his postgame session spreading blame around.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers blames others for the Giannis Antetokounmpo injury
Jan 23, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) walks the ball up court during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Giannis had tweaked something in his calf early in the game and got treatment for it in the locker room, but came back into the game later. Obviously, with his injury now, many are questioning the Bucks’ decision to allow him to keep playing.
But if one takes Rivers at his word, he is certainly not the one to blame for the decision:
“I thought he was favoring it for most of the second half, personally. I asked our team five different times. I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.”
“On that (last) play, you could see him trying to run down the floor. To me, I had had enough. I didn’t ask. I just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in. That was a no for me.”
As one can see, Rivers claims that he did not like the way Giannis was moving throughout the game and checked with the medical staff numerous times. He also said that his star player insisted on playing despite his obvious discomfort.
And Rivers, if what he says is true, listened to them.
At the end of the day, though, he is the head coach and he bears the responsibility for the decisions made. At any time, he could have taken Giannis out. But he didn’t.
His comments obviously show that he is trying to deflect blame from himself for Giannis staying in long enough to get seriously hurt. The fact of the matter, though, is if he can not stand up to his own player(s) or is worried about them being unhappy with him or not listening to him, then he cannot be the person for this job anymore.
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