Milwaukee center Myles Turner said former Bucks coach Doc Rivers did not fine players for their transgressions during the 2025-26 season.
“Doc Rivers, he didn’t fine anybody, ever,” Turner said. “Guys were late all the time. Guys were showing up to film whenever they wanted to show up. Guys were missing meetings. It was one of the craziest things I’ve personally ever experienced.”
This past season was Turner’s first in Milwaukee after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Indiana Pacers, where Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and Rick Carlisle coached him.
“But any other team I’ve been on, guys got fined,” Turner said. “There was a sense of order and a sense of understanding. You’re late to the plane, (you get a) 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.”
Turner’s comments, which were made on the latest episode of his podcast, “Game Recognize Game,” shocked co-host and WNBA superstar forward Breanna Stewart. Stewart said her team’s new coach, Chris DeMarco, who was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors before taking the job, was handing out fines for missed free-throw box outs.
“If the plane took off at 2 o’clock, we weren’t leaving until 4:30,” Turner said. “I’m being so serious, bro. It was crazy. Guys were an hour late to the plane. It got to the point where I just knew not to show up until an hour after they said the plane was taking off.”
Turner said superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was the biggest offender in being late.
“Giannis is gonna show up whenever he wants, really,” Turner said. “I think that just came with the territory. And once I kind of saw what was going down, I said, ‘Hey, man, more power to you. They ain’t gonna fine you. Do what you do.’”
Though it was a surprise to hear a player so bluntly describe the situation, a lack of accountability and structure from the coaching staff is far from surprising after the 2025-26 season. Rivers acknowledged doing a poor job upholding standards in the locker room a few days after the season during an April 17 appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
“I thought one of the things that I’ve always been known for is holding everyone accountable for everything, being on time, and I thought I was very lax on that this year,” Rivers said. “There’s reasons for that I can’t get into, but it bothered me that I wasn’t.”
With a 32-50 record, the Bucks missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade this past season. Antetokounmpo played in only 36 games, the fewest in his 13-year NBA career. Rivers, who served as the Bucks’ head coach for the last 2 1/2 seasons, stepped down from his position immediately after the season, which opened the door for the Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach on April 30.
Throughout the season, the Bucks dealt with drama surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee. But these latest claims from Turner seem to indicate the coaching staff’s lack of accountability was potentially even worse than initially believed.
