Doc Rivers says Giannis 'doesn't have super IQ' and never wanted to be the bad guy

Doc Rivers spent two and a half seasons coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, and he says the experience was not a pleasure. Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast, the former Bucks coach described the two-time MVP as a "difficult" player to coach and said his basketball brain has limits.

"He's not easy because he plays at this crazy downhill pace," Rivers said. "He's really a difficult guy. I was telling someone this: he has this great passing ability, but he doesn't necessarily have super IQ at the same time. It's really a strange thing. And he really has one way. Downhill, force, like every play. He wants to force it."

Rivers was sharper on execution. He compared Antetokounmpo to the type of American AAU talent who could always win on raw gifts alone.

"There's times where I wish he did one thing. I wish he learned how to execute better. He's one of those guys that you get a lot of them from the U.S., AAU guys that have never needed to execute because they can do it on their own. But that doesn't help the team."

He added that he told Giannis directly that the "value of execution" is what he still has to learn - and that his new coach, Miami's Erik Spoelstra, is "as good as there is in execution."

So far the experiment is off to a rough start. The Heat went all-in over the summer, sending Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and three future first-round picks to land Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. Miami fell to 3-6 after Thursday's 120-100 loss to Golden State. Antetokounmpo's individual line remains huge - 27.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists a game - but Rivers argues that style is not lifting the team.

He didn't want to be the bad guy

Rivers also offered his read on how the breakup actually happened. He believes Antetokounmpo wanted out of Milwaukee but refused to ask for a trade.

"I thought Giannis kept yo-yoing," Rivers said. "Giannis wanted out. But he was a Buck, and he didn't want to be the guy, he didn't want to be the bad guy... He wanted Jon [Horst] and Wes [Edens] to say, 'We're trading you,' instead of him asking for a trade. To me, that was the game."

Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks 13 seasons and ended their 50-year title drought in 2021. Most Bucks fans understood the ship was sinking, which let the two-time MVP leave without ever playing the villain to the crowd he called home. The early returns in Miami, though, suggest he may have picked the wrong contender.