UPDATE at 10:24 a.m. CST on Jan. 24, 2023: The Milwaukee Bucks are officially hiring Doc Rivers as the franchise’s next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and TNT’s Chris Haynes.
It’s a homecoming for Doc Rivers.
The former Marquette great – whose number-31 hangs from the rafters at Fiserv Forum – will take over mid-season for Adrian Griffin who was dismissed on Monday after just 43 games according to CNN Sports.
PREVIOUS: Milwaukee Bucks fire Adrian Griffin after 43 games, heavily considering Doc Rivers
Rivers will inherit a team that boasts a record of 30-13 entering tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Joe Prunty will serve as the Bucks’ Interim Head Coach for tonight’s game and until Rivers makes his way to Milwaukee.
According to a report from The Athletic, Rivers has been an informal consultant for Griffin, at the behest of the Bucks, since early December.
After retiring as a player in 1996, Rivers began his NBA coaching career. He was the head coach of the Orlando Magic from 1999 to 2003, the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013, the Los Angeles Clippers from 2013 to 2020, and the Philadelphia 76ers from 2020 to 2023.
Rivers was named the 2000 NBA Coach of the Year in his first season with the Magic and won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 2008. In 2022, Rivers was named one of the top-15 coaches in NBA history.
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