The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to hire Doc Rivers as their coach Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement, one day after abruptly firing first-year coach Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 start.
Rivers has a 1,097-763 (.590) record across 24 seasons coaching the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers, and the 62-year-old was recognized by the NBA in 2022 as one of the top 15 coaches in league history.
Before this season, the former point guard, who played 13 NBA seasons, had coached every year since 1999-2000, earning 2000 coach of the year honors with the Magic, guiding the Celtics to the 2008 championship and becoming one of just 10 coaches to tally 1,000 career wins. The Chicago native played four seasons at Marquette, which is in Milwaukee, during the early 1980s.
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In recent years, Rivers oversaw several notable playoff collapses with the Clippers and 76ers and was fired by Philadelphia in May following a third consecutive second-round exit. He spent the first three months of this season providing commentary for ESPN.
Rivers will guide a veteran Bucks team led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and all-star guard Damian Lillard that faces championship-or-bust expectations. Rivers has extensive experience coaching A-list stars, including Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul and Joel Embiid, and he will seek to guide a deep playoff run after Milwaukee’s disappointing first-round exit against the Miami Heat last season. ESPN first reported his agreement with the Bucks on Wednesday.
The Bucks turned to Rivers after the 49-year-old Griffin struggled to connect with the players during his first season as a head coach. Though Milwaukee boasted the league’s second-best offense and the Eastern Conference’s second-best record entering Tuesday, Griffin endured a tumultuous start to his tenure, which included the departure of lead assistant coach Terry Stotts during the preseason and concerns from his players about his defensive schemes during the opening week of the season.
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The Bucks announced Tuesday that assistant Joe Prunty would serve as their interim coach as they pursued a permanent replacement for Griffin.
“This was a difficult decision to make during the season,” Bucks General Manager Jon Horst said in a statement announcing Griffin’s departure. “We are working immediately toward hiring our next head coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.”
The decision to fire Griffin followed a reported verbal argument with forward Bobby Portis after a game in December and several recent comments by Antetokounmpo that were critical of Milwaukee’s performance.
After a narrow loss to the Houston Rockets this month, Antetokounmpo called for organization-wide improvement.
“We have to be better,” Antetokounmpo said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We have to play better. We have to defend better. We have to trust one another better. We have to be coached better. Every single thing, everybody has to be better. It starts from the equipment manager. He has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better. The leaders of the team have to be more vocal. We have to make more shots. We have to defend better. We have to have better strategy. … We have four months to get better, so let’s see.”
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In their next game, the Bucks were booed by their home fans following a double-digit loss to the Utah Jazz.
“I’d boo myself tonight, too,” Antetokounmpo said.
In the aftermath of last year’s first-round exit, Milwaukee fired coach Mike Budenholzer in May despite a successful five-year tenure, which included the 2021 championship. Though Budenholzer compiled a 271-120 (.693) record in Milwaukee, he was heavily criticized for his reluctance to make adjustments in the playoffs. Antetokounmpo questioned some of Budenholzer’s decisions, including his defensive approach to Heat star Jimmy Butler, following the season-ending loss, and Budenholzer admitted to several shortcomings, including failing to call a timeout in a crucial late-game situation.
Before taking the reins in Milwaukee, Griffin spent 15 seasons as an assistant for the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors. The Bucks tapped Griffin even though more experienced coaches — such as Rivers, Monty Williams, Frank Vogel and Nick Nurse — were available.
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Following Griffin’s hire, Milwaukee executed a blockbuster trade for Lillard and signed Antetokounmpo to a contract extension, making clear its goal of competing for another championship. Griffin was supposed to lean on his playing experience to connect with his team, provide a fresh voice and show more flexibility in the postseason. Instead, he became the first coach to be fired during the 2023-24 season.
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