You can call Doc Rivers a lot of things -- some of them flattering -- but one nickname that we can safely say has never been used......

Mr. Accountable.

The former NBA point guard and head coach, who was just inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for the latter, had a habit during his time coaching five teams in 27 seasons of offering excuses whenever anything didn't go quite right. Like, say, losing 3-1 playoff leads.... or failing to get a team to reach its assumed potential.

This tendency was so known in the NBA community that former Rivers player J.J. Redick, while still with ESPN and prior to taking the Los Angeles Lakers coaching job, spoke to it publicly: "I've seen the trend for years. The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard... it's always an excuse. It's always throwing your team under the bus... there's never accountability with that guy."

And in 2025-26, the Bucks stopped winning with him, but the buck never stopped with him.

So perhaps it's no surprise that Rivers, now back in Redick's role as an NBA observer and analyst rather than participant, used that platform to indirectly and subtly shift responsibility for his failed tenure in Milwaukee to former Bucks, and now current Heat, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Everyone is talking about Giannis and the Heat, of course, because they weren't supposed to struggle collectively to a 3-6 start.

Doc Rivers tells Bill Simmons it was so hard for him to coach Giannis Antetokounmpo during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks:

“He’s not easy. He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy. He has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t have a super-high…

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) November 6, 2026

Rivers, speaking to Celtics fan and The Ringer founder Bill Simmons, characterized Giannis as a challenge in one way.

“He’s not easy. He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy. He has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t have a super-high IQ at the same time. He really has only one way of playing. Every play, he wants to force it. I wish he’d learned how to execute better."

Doc Rivers

Rivers isn't wrong about Giannis's pace, of course. That's been discussed in South Florida over the past few weeks; Antetokounmpo's new coach, Erik Spoelstra, has been trying to amplify and exploit Giannis's transition ability by pushing that pace -- but it seems to have bled into the Heat's defense, which has been much worse than expected.

And Rivers did praise Spoelstra, a rival going back to the early 2010's, in his next comment, in which he explained: "The thing he still needs to learn is the value of execution how important it is, when you’re in practice and at shoot around, to lock in on execution. Now he has a coach who’s as good as there is at execution.”

But really, what is this about?

If not for Rivers's history of trying to deflect blame, it might be taken at face value. When it's shaped by that context, however, it seems as if an effort to explain why the Bucks cratered under his watch until he stepped aside and was replaced by Taylor Jenkins. And it's typically considered off limits to talk about a player's basketball IQ, especially a player who has won two MVPs and a Finals MVP, all without Rivers in the picture.

Giannis didn't win those under Jason Kidd either, but rather Mike Budenholzer. But Kidd was Giannis's second NBA coach, and the guy who decided to give the skinny kid from Greece the ball, and even let him play some point guard. Kidd had a differing view, when asked about Rivers.

Jason Kidd on Doc Rivers saying Giannis is difficult to coach:

"Giannis' superpower to get downhill and he makes plays. So understanding Doc saying that his IQ, I disagree with that. I think Giannis understands how to play the game. His forcefulness getting downhill is what it's… pic.twitter.com/eNPvxGaIoT

— Oh No He Didn't 🤯 (@ohnohedidnt24) November 6, 2026

Kidd coached Giannis in Milwaukee from 2014 to

"Giannis' superpower to get downhill and he makes plays. So understanding Doc saying that his IQ, I disagree with that. I think Giannis understands how to play the game. His forcefulness getting downhill is what it's all about. And so when he causes a problem, he's one of the top five players in the league."

Jason Kidd

Antetounmpo has put up what would usually be MVP-level numbers so far -- 27 points, 13 rebounds and six assists per game. But they're not translating to wins. As long as the latter is true, his game will be parsed.

Rivers continued with his critique.

“You have to learn how to play with Giannis," Rivers said. "It’s unusual you have a player who’s not a great shooter, but great scorer. The spacing has to always be right. You feel like you’re in the way as a player with Giannis. He also feels like you’re in the way. I felt this in MIL, Giannis with the ball in his hands too much is not as good. I think Giannis when he doesn’t have the ball is always hard. You have to figure out where to put him. I love him as a roller but he doesn’t love rolling. The games they won (in finals) was when Jrue (Holiday) or (Khris) Middleton had the ball. If you get it right he can change your team but it’s hard to get it right."

And more.....

"He’s not the defender he used to be. I noticed teams were trying to get him to switch onto them," Rivers said. "Weak side he’s fantastic, but you can attack him on the ball. I think that’s what teams are doing now.”

Rivers knows the game. And obviously he knows Giannis. So he can't be entirely dismissed. And it does appear that Giannis needs to improve some "little" things to help this particular team, the Heat, succeed: more forceful screen-setting and rolling; fewer give-up three-point shots; and more attention and aggression on defense.

But Rivers's comments didn't seem they like they were just about Miami.

Rather, Milwaukee.

And himself.