Myles Turner Exposes Bucks Discipline Problems: Giannis Always Late, Doc Rivers Never Fined Anybody
Myles Turner is no longer a Milwaukee Buck, and the gloves are off. On his new podcast Game Recognize Game with Breanna Stewart, Turner ripped the culture under Doc Rivers and said Giannis Antetokounmpo was the worst offender when it came to showing up on time. The story he told is unbelievable, and it explains a lot about why that Bucks team underachieved.
The headline number from Turner’s appearance is this. He said Doc Rivers did not fine anybody, ever. That is not how NBA teams operate. Every team has fine schedules for being late to practice, late to film, late to flights, late to meetings. Players get docked checks for showing up five minutes late. According to Turner, none of that existed in Milwaukee last year.
The result was predictable. Turner said guys were chronically late, and Giannis was the leader of the pack. Quote, “If the plane took off at 2 o’clock, we weren’t leaving till 4:30.” Turner eventually learned not to show up on time himself because Giannis would arrive whenever he wanted. That is not a team. That is a country club.
This is a damning look at the Bucks under Rivers, and it confirms what a lot of fans had suspected. The team had no structure, no accountability, and a star player who was bigger than the program. That kind of environment kills championship teams every time. You cannot build a winning culture when the best player is 90 minutes late to charter flights.
The Giannis defense is going to be that he is the franchise. He is a two-time MVP and a Finals MVP. He has carried Milwaukee on his back for over a decade. But that defense does not hold up here. The greatest players in NBA history were almost always the first ones to practice, the first ones in the gym, the guys who set the tone for everyone else. Kobe Bryant. Tim Duncan. LeBron James. None of them showed up two hours late to flights.
Turner also said this was one of the craziest things he has personally ever experienced in his career. That is a strong quote from a guy who has played for multiple coaches and seen a lot of basketball. Turner is not a drama guy. He has a reputation in the league as a steady, professional, low-maintenance player. If he is going on record with this, it is because the situation was bad.
The implications for Doc Rivers are significant. Rivers got hired to bring championship culture to Milwaukee. He was the experienced hand who was supposed to fix what Adrian Griffin could not. Instead, the team got worse, got eliminated early in the playoffs again, and apparently had less internal structure than under the previous coach. That is a damning report.
For Giannis, this is not a great look either. He is going to push back, and he might say Turner is salty about getting traded. But the accountability for tardiness has to start with the franchise player. If Giannis showed up on time, the rest of the team would too. He set the standard, and the standard apparently was nonexistent.
The Bucks have decisions to make this summer. Damian Lillard is hurt and aging. Giannis is going to want answers about the direction of the team. Doc Rivers is on a hot seat, and Turner’s comments are not going to help his case. The roster needs work, the culture needs a reset, and the next coaching hire needs to be somebody who is willing to actually fine the best player on the team.
Turner just told the league exactly what the Bucks need. Whether they listen is another question.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
