Myles Turner Says Doc Rivers Never Fined Bucks Players for Lateness

Myles Turner said Doc Rivers never fined Milwaukee Bucks players for lateness during the 2025-26 season, and he described a locker room where people arrived when they wanted. Turner said he had never seen that level of lateness before, even though the Bucks finished 32-50 and missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.

Turner Details Bucks Discipline

"Doc Rivers, he didn’t fine anybody, ever," Turner said on the latest episode of his podcast, "Game Recognize Game." He added, "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."

Turner also said the pattern went beyond one-off arrivals. "But any other team I’ve been on, guys got fined," he said. "If the plane took off at 2 o’clock, we weren’t leaving until 4:30."

Giannis Antetokounmpo Draws Mention

Turner said Giannis Antetokounmpo was the biggest offender in being late. He said, "Giannis is gonna show up whenever he wants, really," a line that put the Bucks’ internal standards in direct view during Turner’s first season in Milwaukee after his 10 years with the Indiana Pacers.

The comments land against a season that already ended badly. Antetokounmpo played in only 36 games, the fewest in his 13-year NBA career, and Rivers said on April 17 that he was very lax on accountability and being on time during the season.

Rivers, Bucks, and Taylor Jenkins

Rivers stepped down immediately after the season, and the Bucks hired Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach on April 30. Turner’s account points to a team that was not just losing games, but also operating without the kind of day-to-day discipline that usually sits at the center of a coach’s control.

For Milwaukee, that leaves the new coach with a straightforward task: set the standard early and make the schedule matter. After a 32-50 season and a playoff miss that snapped a 10-year run, the Bucks cannot afford another year where the plane departs at 2 o’clock and the room is still waiting at 4:30.