Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has been voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Rivers, who boasts one NBA championship and 1,162 wins (sixth-most all-time), will join legendary figures like Mark Few, Amar’e Stoudamire, and Candace Parker. The enshrinement ceremony will occur from August 14–15 in Springfield, MA.
Although Rivers can boast a successful career as an All-Star point guard, he earned his induction for his achievements as a coach. Named as one of the 15 greatest coaches
in NBA history in 2021, Rivers is the winningest active NBA coach and sixth-winningest all-time. He’s best known for his nine-season stint with Boston, where he won the 2008 NBA championship, and his leadership of the Lob City Clippers with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. He’s adapted to the increasingly fluid NBA landscape by managing superstar egos and acting as a “player’s coach,” while developing young prospects into All-NBA guards through his offensive sets.
“It would mean the world to me,” Rivers told the media on Tuesday. “I’ve done a lot, the numbers are the numbers. But it’s not, I swear, it’s not why I got into this. It’s the relationships, it’s the people. From the day that I was nominated, the calls, I can’t tell you. It’s in the hundreds, the player calls. And some of the calls have been amazing because I thought they didn’t like me anymore… It’s been amazing that they have reached out, and it’s made me feel really good about just doing what I do. It’s been great.”
It remains to be seen if Rivers will accept the award in August as the Bucks’ head coach. Reports from ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel suggest he could be let go after the season ends, regardless of any offseason drama between Giannis and the Bucks front office.
Once again, Bucks legend Marques Johnson was snubbed as a Hall of Famer. Johnson was the only nominee to be chosen as a finalist by the Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee, but failed to make the nine-member class. The Veterans Committee recognizes candidates who have retired from basketball for at least 35 years. Johnson beat out former stars like World B. Free and Paul Silas to reach the final stage.
Johnson, a five-time All-Star, averaged 20.1 points and seven rebounds across 691 NBA games, 524 of which were with Milwaukee. He led the Bruins to an NCAA title in 1975 under the legendary John Wooden, while collecting several All-American and Player of the Year Awards in Los Angeles. The Bucks legend saw his no. 8 jersey retired in 2019 by Milwaukee and pioneered the point forward role under coach Don Nelson.
With the committee’s failure to induct Johnson for another year, he remains one of two eligible players who have scored at least 13,000 points, 4,500 rebounds, and 2,500 assists in the first eleven years in the NBA, along with Griffin. His contributions to basketball are certainly Hall-of-Fame-level, and it remains to be seen whether the Veterans Committee inducts Johnson again in 2027.
