Doc Rivers will join the Bucks to take Adrian Griffin’s place after he was unexpectedly sacked.
Two persons with knowledge of the deal said that the Milwaukee Bucks decided to hire Doc Rivers as their coach on Wednesday. Adrian Griffin, the team’s first-year coach, was unceremoniously fired the day before, despite the team’s 30-13 start.
After 24 seasons as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers has a 1,097-763 (.590) record. The NBA named the 62-year-old one of the top 15 coaches in league history in 2022.
The former point guard, who spent 13 NBA seasons as a player, had been a coach every year except for this one since 1999–2000. He led the Celtics to the 2008 title, was named coach of the year with the Magic in 2000, and is one of just 10 coaches in history to have 1,000 career victories. The Chicago native spent four seasons as a player at Milwaukee’s Marquette University in the early 1980s.
With the Clippers and 76ers in recent years, Rivers supervised a number of noteworthy postseason failures. In May, after the team’s third consecutive second-round loss, Philadelphia dismissed Rivers. This season, he provided commentary for ESPN for the first three months.
With two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and all-star guard Damian Lillard leading the way, Rivers will lead a seasoned Bucks club that has championship-or-bust expectations. Having coached A-list players like Joel Embiid, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, and Kevin Garnett for a long time, Rivers will look to lead Milwaukee to a deep playoff run following the team’s devastating first-round loss to the Miami Heat in the previous campaign.His deal with the Bucks was first reported by ESPN on Wednesday.
After 49-year-old Griffin failed to establish a rapport with the players in his debut season as head coach, the Bucks looked to Rivers. Even though Milwaukee had the second-best offense in the league and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference going into Tuesday, Griffin’s tenure had a turbulent beginning due to the departure of lead assistant coach Terry Stotts during the preseason and players’ misgivings about his defensive schemes in the first week of play.
The Bucks declared on Tuesday that assistant Joe Prunty will take over as head coach in the interim as they look for a long-term Griffin successor.
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In a statement announcing Griffin’s exit, Bucks General Manager Jon Horst stated, “This was a difficult decision to make during the season.” “We are starting the process of selecting our next head coach right now. We appreciate Coach Griffin’s dedication to the team and his hard work.
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during a rumored verbal altercation with forward Bobby Portis during a game in December, as well as a number of recent remarks made by Antetokounmpo that were critical of Milwaukee’s play, Griffin was fired.
This month, following a close defeat to the Houston Rockets, Antetokounmpo demanded changes throughout the entire organization.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Antetokounmpo stated, “We have to be better.” “We must improve as a team. We must improve our defense. We need to have more mutual trust. Better coaching is required for us. Everyone and everything needs to be improved. It begins with the manager of the equipment. He really needs to wash our clothes. The bench needs to be improved. The team’s leaders need to speak up more. We need to take more pictures. We must improve our defense. We need a more effective plan. .. Let’s see, we have four months to recover.
The Bucks lost by double digits to the Utah Jazz, and their home supporters jeered them during their next game.
“Tonight, I would also boo myself,” Antetokounmpo declared.
Despite a great five-year tenure that produced the 2021 title, Milwaukee fired coach Mike Budenholzer in May following the team’s first-round exit the previous year. Despite having a 271-120 (.693) record when pitching for Milwaukee, Budenholzer faced harsh criticism for not changing his strategy during the postseason. After the season-ending loss, Antetokounmpo questioned some of Budenholzer’s choices, particularly his defensive strategy against Heat star Jimmy Butler. Budenholzer also acknowledged a number of inadequacies, including his failure to call a timeout in a pivotal late-game scenario.
Griffin worked as an assistant for the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Toronto Raptors for fifteen seasons before to assuming the helm in Milwaukee. Despite having access to more seasoned coaches like Rivers, Monty Williams, Frank Vogel, and Nick Nurse, the Bucks chose to work with Griffin.
After hiring Griffin, Milwaukee made it obvious that it wanted to contend for another championship by completing a blockbuster trade for Lillard and extending Antetokounmpo’s contract. During the postseason, Griffin was expected to use his playing background to establish a rapport with his teammates, offer a new perspective, and demonstrate greater adaptability. Rather, in the 2023–24 season, he became the first coach to be sacked.
