Despite starting 30-13 and sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, news broke on Jan. 23 that the Milwaukee Bucks fired their first-year head coach Adrian Griffin.
The Bucks hired Griffin during the offseason to replace their former coach Mike Budenholzer who was fired after the Bucks lost in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs to the Miami Heat.
Before Griffin was head coach of the Bucks, he was an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors.
Griffin signed as the head coach for the Bucks and had to manage the team that consisted of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and NBA top-75 player Damian Lillard, who was also acquired during the offseason. The Bucks have been one of the favorites to be in the NBA Finals for the past few seasons.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Doc Rivers has emerged as a serious candidate to become the Bucks’ next head coach. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says the Bucks are planning to quickly pursue an accomplished and available veteran head coach.
Rivers, who is currently an analyst for ESPN, has championship-level experience coaching in the NBA, leading the Boston Celtics to a championship in 2008.
There have been no reports as to why the Bucks moved on from Griffin.
