Report: Doc Rivers Told His Players In Milwaukee To "Google" Him

The line “Google me” is meant to boast one’s accomplishments. As in, one is so successful that search engine results will readily showcase the entries of that person’s resume.

In the case of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, this line appears to have backfired miserably.

According to a new report published by ESPN’s Shams Charania this week, Rivers called for a team meeting on March 2, barely 12 hours after the Bucks blew a double-digit lead to suffer a loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. Later that night, they were set to take on an Eastern Conference powerhouse in the Boston Celtics.

There was a lot to discuss, but Charania (citing six people who were physically present at the meeting) pointed to a bombshell sound bite from Rivers’ diatribe that day. “In that meeting, Doc Rivers implored his team to ‘look at my resume and Google me,’” Charania recounted on “NBA Today.”

Reportedly, the Bucks didn’t take too kindly to Rivers’ words. And the one-time NBA champion wasn’t done yet. “I took teams to the playoffs and to the championship that weren't supposed to. I thought this was one of them," Rivers allegedly said. "Either you're with us or against us. If you're not playing hard, we're not playing you anymore.”

This wasn’t necessarily an arrogant, mean-spirited taunt. The annals of NBA history are filled with anecdotes of coaches saying all sorts of colorful things to get the best out of their players.

Of course, there was no Google around when the likes of Red Auerbach and Dr. Jack Ramsay were showcasing their coaching brilliance in the NBA. If Charania’s report is to be believed, Rivers essentially made the choice to turn the attention to him (and not the players or the team) when he urged the Bucks locker room to look him up on the internet.

Given that the Bucks are headed to the draft lottery after putting up a dismal regular season record, it’s not hard to imagine the Bucks organization seriously reconsidering Rivers’ coaching stint. Reportedly, the name of former Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has come up as a potential successor. In the big picture, Rivers will be just fine, 2026 Hall of Fame induction and all, but his track record in Milwaukee speaks for itself.