The Milwaukee Bucks shocked the NBA earlier this week when they made the surprising decision to fire head coach Adrian Griffin midway through his first year with the team. At 30-13 (at the time), Milwaukee was second in the Eastern Conference and tied for the second-best record in the NBA. However, reports state that Griffin had already lost the locker room and the front office did not want to risk wasting a single year of their NBA Championship window.
According to those reports, former assistant coach Terry Stotts was hired by the Bucks to be the backup plan at head coach if things with Griffin went they way they ended up going. However, Stotts resigned suddenly before the season began after an altercation with Griffin during practice.
Due to Stotts’ resignation, the Bucks quietly hired Rivers as a consultant for Griffin a couple of months ago. The idea was the same as with Stotts; if things went south for Griffin, Rivers would step in as his replacement. This is why reports that the Bucks had targeted Rivers as Griffin’s replacement started to leak mere hours after the decision was made.
Even though it has been a foregone conclusion for days, the Bucks did not officially announce Rivers’ hire until late Friday night while the team was losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They also announced when he would make his season debut as Joe Prunty as been leading the team in the interim.
The Milwaukee Bucks Officially Hire Doc Rivers as Their Next Head Coach
The Bucks released an official statement announcing their formal hiring of Rivers as the franchise’s next head coach. That statement reads in part:
Rivers, who becomes the 18th head coach in franchise history, is an NBA champion coach who brings 24 seasons of head coaching experience to the Bucks. As head coach of the Orlando Magic (1999-03), Boston Celtics (2004-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-20) and Philadelphia 76ers (2020-23), Rivers racked up 1,097 wins, good for ninth-most in NBA history, and owns an overall record of 1,097-763 (.590). He led his teams to the playoffs in 19 of his 24 seasons as a head coach, with two trips to the NBA Finals and an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008. His 111 playoff wins are the fourth-most in league history.
“Doc is a proven, extraordinary leader and communicator during his renowned NBA coaching career,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst. “As a championship coach, he’s widely respected as an established innovator, and the right coach to lead our experienced and talented team. I want to thank our owners, Wes Edens, Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Jamie Dinan, for their unwavering commitment to winning. It’s a pleasure to welcome Doc to the Bucks.”
“Doc’s extensive coaching experience and winning leadership qualities make him the ideal choice to maximize our potential,” Bucks co-owners Wes Edens, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and Jamie Dinan said. “We’re excited to bring Doc to Milwaukee.”
“This is a great opportunity to come to a first-class organization with a team that has a talented roster of high-character players,” Rivers said. “I want to thank Wes, Jimmy, Dee and Jamie, along with Jon, for their trust in me. It’s amazing to come home to Milwaukee where at Marquette I learned the game of basketball from Rick Majerus, Al McGuire, and Hank Raymonds. A special thanks to ESPN for my time there. I’m truly grateful. Now, I’m excited to get started with the Bucks.”
While the Bucks do play again at home today, Rivers will not be on the bench. Prunty will coach one final game as the interim head coach. Rivers’ first game will come on Monday when Milwaukee plays the Denver Nuggets on the road.
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