MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have made it official and hired Doc Rivers as their next head coach. He becomes the 18th head coach in the franchise’s history.
Rivers is an NBA champion coach who brings 24 seasons of head coaching experience to the Bucks. He’s 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.
In a statement, Bucks General Manager Jon Horst said “Doc is a proven, extraordinary leader and communicator during his renowned NBA coaching career. 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.”
“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. “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.”
Rivers was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in 2022 by a panel of current and former NBA head coaches in collaboration with the National Basketball Coaches Association.
A native of Chicago, Rivers played at and graduated from Marquette University, and his number 31 jersey can be seen hanging in the rafters of Fiserv Forum. Rivers went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA between 1983-96 with the Hawks, Clippers, Knicks and Spurs. He appeared in 864 games in his career, including in 81 playoff games, and was an NBA All-Star in 1988.
Rivers succeeds Adrian Griffin, who was fired after just 43 games as head coach this season.
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