Jason Kidd is absolutely not on the same page as Doc Rivers when it comes to coaching Miami Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kidd, who actually coached Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-18, straight-up said on NBA Today, “I don’t” agree with Rivers’ perspective on coaching the two-time MVP, especially about Giannis’s basketball IQ.
Kidd’s Defense of the Greek Freak
Kidd isn’t holding back, laying out why Rivers’ take on Giannis’s IQ is just wrong. “I think when you talk about stars, they are hard to coach,” Kidd admitted. “But, they want to be coached.” He stressed that Giannis’s real “superpower” is his ability to “get downhill and he makes plays.” Forget the IQ critique, according to Kidd, because “Giannis understands how to play the game.” It’s all about “his forcefulness getting downhill,” which Kidd says “is what it’s all about.” When Giannis is doing that, causing problems for defenses, Kidd believes “he’s one of the top five players in the league.” That’s a powerful endorsement from a guy who knows him.
Doc Rivers’ “Not Easy” Giannis Take
Rivers, who took over coaching Giannis and the Bucks from 2023-26, previously detailed his challenges on the Bill Simmons Podcast. He wasn’t subtle either. Rivers said he “liked Giannis a lot” as a person, even “liked him more as a dude.” But coaching? That’s a different story. “He’s interesting. He’s not easy. He’s not easy because he plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy,” Rivers explained. He acknowledged Giannis’s “great passing ability,” but then hit with the kicker: “he doesn’t necessarily have this super IQ at the same time. It’s really a strange thing.” Rivers doubled down, saying Giannis “really has one way: downhill, force, force. Every play, he wants to force it.” The former coach even added, “I wish he learned how to execute better.” He feels Giannis “never needed to execute because they can do it on their own,” but that “doesn’t help the team.” Rivers claims he told Giannis he needs to learn “the value of execution” and “how important it is when you’re in practice and shoot-arounds to lock in on execution,” pointing to Erik Spoelstra as a coach who excels in that area.
The Messy Coaching History and Miami’s Early Struggles
The history between these coaches and Giannis is wild. Giannis definitely blossomed into a star under Kidd’s tenure in Milwaukee. Then, under Mike Budenholzer, he exploded, becoming a dominant two-way force after 2018. We’re talking back-to-back MVP honors, Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, and leading the Bucks to a championship and Finals MVP in 2020-21. But even Budenholzer was out after a first-round playoff exit in 2023.
Enter Doc Rivers. The Bucks hired Adrian Griffin, who started the 2023-24 campaign with a strong 30-13 record, but then they fired him for Rivers. How’d that work out? Rivers’ three seasons with the Bucks were a struggle, compiling a 97-103 record. Yeah, 97-103. He stepped down after the 2025-26 season. Kidd also moved on, coaching the Dallas Mavericks for five years from 2021-26 before getting replaced by Dusty May this summer.
Now, Giannis is in Miami, starting his first season with the Heat after a blockbuster trade in June. And guess what? They are struggling. The Heat sit at a rough 3-6 through nine games. So, with Giannis in a new spot and Miami trying to find its footing, this debate between his old coaches just hits different.
The Heat are off to a brutal 3-6 start, and this early season drama between two of Giannis’s former coaches just adds more fuel to the fire. Can the Greek Freak prove both Kidd’s top-five praise and Rivers’ execution concerns right in different ways? It makes you wanna watch every single Heat game to see how this unfolds with Giannis in Miami.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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