“Oh my god. First of all, he’s not my coach; my coach is Coach Spo, but he’s a coach that I’ve worked with in the past,” Antetokounmpo said after Miami’s 114-108 win over the Sacramento Kings. “Speechless. He made those comments? When? Today?”

The two worked together in Antetokounmpo’s final two and a half seasons in Milwaukee, but failed to build on the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship, suffering two first-round playoff exits and missing the post-season outright last year.

Rivers joined the Bucks partway through the 2023-24 season following the firing of Adrian Griffin. He mutually agreed to part ways with the franchise following the 2025-26 regular season.

“You have his number, right? You do. I know you do. You gotta go ask him why he thought that. Like, that’s on him, that’s not on me.” Antetokounmpo said. “I gotta focus on my team, and what I gotta do, and how can I be better, and how can I help the team. But like, goddamn, that’s crazy.”

In his podcast appearance, Rivers explained that what makes Antetokounmpo so hard to coach is that he lacks execution and tends to force plays, saying that, “He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy. I was telling someone this: he has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t have a super IQ at the same time. It’s really a strange thing.”

Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat in the off-season after a drawn-out trade saga.

While his start in South Beach hasn’t gone according to plan, having started the season 4-6 after Sunday’s win in Sacramento, the 10-time all-star’s production hasn’t waned. Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 56.6 per cent from the field in 32.8 minutes per game.

“Never let bitterness and pettiness get in front of your goals and dreams, man,” Antetokounmpo added, regarding Rivers’ comments. “For every athlete out there, never let that (happen). That’s insane, but you gotta go ask him why he said what he said. Not me.”