Collapse. That’s the only word for it. With less than a minute left in overtime, the Milwaukee Bucks held a seven-point lead. Moments later, Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup buried them for good. The Pacers are moving on. The Bucks are going home. And Doc Rivers? Well, NBA Twitter already wrote his obituary.

“He’s the biggest loser in NBA history, man. He just infects his players,” one fan posted, echoing a sentiment that spread like wildfire across social media. A devastating Game 5 loss in Indiana didn’t just end Milwaukee’s season—it reignited a conversation the league never seems to stop having: Is Doc Rivers the wrong coach for the job?

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just any elimination. This was a textbook Rivers unraveling. An 8-0 run conceded in the final 35 seconds. Star players confused on switches. No adjustments to stop Indiana’s late-game blitz. Even with Damian Lillard sidelined, Milwaukee had control. And they gave it away. Again.

“Doc Rivers waited till they went down 3-1 to make the most obvious adjustment he should’ve made months ago,” said another user. “One of the worst coaches this league has ever seen.”

To grasp the full weight of the criticism surrounding Doc Rivers, you have to look at the historical context. No other coach in NBA history has blown more 3-1 series leads than Rivers. But it doesn’t end there. Since 2000, NBA teams are an astonishing 943-19 in playoff games when leading by 7 or more points with under 35 seconds left. Rivers is responsible for 17 of those 19 losses. That’s not just a red flag—it’s a glaring indictment of late-game management under pressure.

The criticism isn’t new. Rivers now holds the record for most Game 7 losses in NBA history. He’s blown more 3-1 and 3-2 leads than any coach in the modern era. While his defenders will point to a respectable regular-season record and a championship with the 2008 Celtics, the resume since then reads like a guidebook on playoff implosions. And this one might top the list.

However, the very serious outcome of this loss isn’t just the Bucks getting eliminated from the playoffs. This may also end up deciding Giannis’ future in the team. With Lillard out long-term and the Bucks failing to get out of the first round for a second straight year, all eyes now turn to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite putting up 30-20-13 in Game 5 and averaging 33.8 points on 62% shooting across the series, Giannis’ efforts weren’t enough. And for the third straight postseason, he’s headed home far too early. That’s not just disappointing — it’s destabilizing.

Moreover, the Bucks mortgaged their future to acquire Lillard and a not so successful tenure with Jae Crowder. But with the 34-year-old now facing a brutal Achilles rehab and commanding over $110 million across the next two seasons, Milwaukee is suddenly stuck. There’s no cap flexibility. No promising young core. Just Giannis, watching the window slam shut.

Even worse? Rivers’ arrival was meant to bring maturity and experience. Instead, the Bucks became one of the first top-five seed to exit the playoffs in Round 1 for the third straight year.

And the optics around Lillard’s injury were even worse. He collapsed untouched, clutching his leg. Blood clot, Achilles tear — all within a few weeks. The man they acquired to secure their future is now uncertain to play at all next season. And for Giannis, this was never just about one player. Lillard was supposed to be the partner. The franchise sold assets, players, and dreams to give him a chance to win now. And now? It’s all unraveling.

Across social media, the implications were loud and clear. “Milwaukee Bucks been cursed bro. Giannis gotta leave for any chances of more championships,” one fan posted.

“This just tells me Giannis is out after this season unfortunately,” another added. The injury wasn’t just an unfortunate event. It was a signal flare. Multiple reports have suggested that teams like the Warriors and Rockets are closely watching the situation. Sam Amick confirmed Golden State’s interest. Houston could offer a youthful core and a stockpile of picks. New York remains a wildcard. The vultures are circling.

And the fans know it.

“No One Chokes Like a Doc Rivers Team”: NBA Twitter Has Seen Enough

Fans didn’t just blame the collapse on bad luck or missing Lillard. They blamed the man on the bench.

“What a comeback. This goes straight to Doc Rivers’ pantheon of playoff losses,” one fan wrote. And they weren’t being hyperbolic. Rivers now holds a 17-34 record in potential series-clinching games. Since winning the title in 2008, he’s failed to reach another finals despite coaching Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid, and now Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“No one, I mean no one chokes like a Doc Rivers team,” another posted. “It’s like a curse.”

Historically, Rivers-led teams have been criticized for showing mental fragility in the playoffs—and it’s not just narrative. The Bucks gave up 20-point leads multiple times in the series. Adjustments were either too late or non-existent. That alone stirred flashbacks to Rivers’ final days in Philadelphia, where he infamously stuck with DeAndre Jordan over Paul Reed despite glaring evidence.

Others didn’t hold back. One user even captured the overall sentiment perfectly: “Fire Doc Rivers into the sun, but like I said—two things can be true at the same time.”

That second truth? Giannis might be next.

Because for all the blame Rivers is rightly receiving, there’s a deeper fear running through Bucks Nation: that this wasn’t just a playoff loss, but the end of an era. An era that was supposed to cement a dynasty. An era that now seems defined by injuries, mismanagement, and missed windows.

FOX Sports’ Melissa Rohlin outlined what now feels like an irreversible scenario. Giannis, who once said he wouldn’t sign an extension unless the Bucks remained championship-focused, only signed on after the Lillard trade. Without Dame, the foundation crumbles. And with Giannis now entering his 30s, waiting out another rebuild doesn’t align with his ambitions.

Meanwhile, the roster’s decline is stark. Khris Middleton is gone. Kyle Kuzma, acquired in his place, failed to make an impact. The perimeter defense collapsed after the Jrue Holiday trade. And the coaching carousel—from Budenholzer to Griffin to Rivers—has left no consistency in philosophy or culture.

One fan summed it up perfectly: “This isn’t just a Gary catching the ball thing. AJ fouling on a layup up 4, multiple timeouts spent trying to get the ball in after a made basket, blowing switches for free layups. All that stuff just sounds like a team who has been poorly coached for the last 7 months.”

They weren’t wrong. Earlier in the game, Rivers burned two timeouts just trying to inbound the ball. And defensively? Milwaukee repeatedly blew assignments, giving up open layups off simple screens. The issues ran deeper than the box score: inconsistent rotations, communication breakdowns, and a startling lack of cohesion under pressure. Offensive sets that broke down into isolation panic. These weren’t isolated errors—they were symptoms of a team that had no identity, no clarity, and no trust in the system.

Now, the rumors are flying. The signs are all there. Three straight first-round exits. A roster aging rapidly. A coaching staff with no answers. And a superstar who gave everything, again, only to see it wasted.

And while fans rage at Rivers, they’re quietly grieving something more.

Giannis, they fear, might have played his last game in a Bucks jersey.

And if that turns out to be true, this Game 5 collapse will be remembered not just as the end of a series—but the end of an era in Milwaukee.