Bucks Head Coach Doc Rivers Not a Finalist for 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame

HIs resume is certainly Hall of Fame-worthy at some point, although he will not be a first ballot inclusion.

Feb 10, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers talks to referee Suyash Mehta in the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

In a bit of a shocker, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers missed the cut of 17 finalists for enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's 2025 class.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 17 finalists for Class of 2025 Election.

🔗: https://t.co/X1s49XsuJd #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/e7IHheA5pC

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 15, 2025

A pair of legendary NCAA men's basketball coaches, longtime Florida head coach Billy Donovan (now leading the Chicago Bulls straight to the lottery) and longtime Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, have made the cut, however.

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Rivers, a former All-Star point guard as a player, has enjoyed a long and extended career as a head coach since 1999.

During stints with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, L.A. Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and now the Bucks, Rivers has gone 1143-806 in the regular season (a .587 win percentage) and 113-108 in the postseason (.511), including stewarding Boston to a pair of NBA Finals berths in 2008 and 2010. The team won it all in 2008.

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Rivers certainly possesses a resume worth of Hall of Fame inclusion. He is one of the league's winningest coaches ever, and one of its most respected leaders. It's a bit of a surprise he'll have to wait at least another year to see it happen.

Last year, Rivers was a midseason replacement for fired former head coach Adrian Griffin. He helped Milwaukee finish as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record, though the club fell in the playoffs due to injuries to All-Stars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This season, the Bucks have gone 29-24, and are currently the East's fifth seed.

The Bucks boast a formidable, veteran-laden roster. Team general manager Jon Horst brought in some athletic new additions, forward Kyle Kuzma and shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr., at the trade deadline to help bolster the club's depth ahead of an expected deep postseason run.

Felt like this fourth quarter play was a strong example of what Doc Rivers and Jon Horst have been talking about with Kyle Kuzma's ability to push the pace in transition.

Wrote about it at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/yT6r3TNCZV pic.twitter.com/g2v6AH0xG8

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 13, 2025

The 6-foot-4 former point guard was nominated to the Hall of Fame for his coaching work, not his playing — but he was a pretty good player in his day, too. During a 13-year playing career for the Atlanta Hawks, Clippers, New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs, Rivers logged regular season averages of 10.9 points on .444/.328/.784 shooting splits, 5.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 864 bouts (605 starts).

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