Bucks fire Adrian Griffin, hire Doc Rivers as new head coach

The Milwaukee Bucks terminated its coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday after 43 games on the job and hired Doc Rivers as the new head coach.

Bucks’s firing came despite having one of the league’s top records midway through his (Adrian Griffin) first season.

Meanwhile, NBA veteran Doc Rivers has accepted the offer from the Milwaukee Bucks to be the team’s next coach, reports CNN.

The Bucks fired Griffin, who had been with the team since June 2023, saying they were “working immediately” to hire their next head coach.

He also thanks Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.

Griffin’s firing was a “difficult decision to make during the season,” Bucks General Manager Jon Horst said in a statement.

Rivers, 62, coached the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons. At the time, Sixers President of Basketball Operations described Doc Rivers as “one of the most successful coaches in NBA history.”

He has also served as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics. He led to an NBA championship in 2008.

The Bucks, who are tied for the second-best record in the NBA at 30-13, will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Milwaukee appointed Griffin as the first head coach job last summer after firing Mike Budenholzer, who led the Bucks in 2021 to their first title in half a century.

Bucks fired Budenholzer after the team were stunned 4-1 by the Miami Heat in the first round of last season’s playoffs.

Griffin, 49, had spent 16 seasons as an NBA assistant, which followed a nine-year NBA playing career. Among the seasons, he was the last five with the Toronto Raptors.