LOS ANGELES – Doc Rivers, who guided the Boston Celtics to the 2008 National Basketball Association (NBA) title, has reached an agreement in principle to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN reported on Jan 24.
The 62-year-old is currently working as an ESPN NBA commentator, a job he began after he was fired as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers following their play-off defeat by the Celtics last May.
Rivers has a win-loss record of 1,097-763 with the Orlando Magic (1999-2003), the Celtics (2004-13), the Los Angeles Clippers (2013-20) and the Sixers (2020-23).
Multiple US media outlets reported on Jan 23 that the Bucks were targeting Rivers after they sacked coach Adrian Griffin – who was dismissed with the team ranked second in the Eastern Conference standings.
Griffin, 49, had been appointed last June to replace Mike Budenholzer, who was also unceremoniously ditched after the Bucks crashed out of the play-offs in the first round.
ESPN sources say Milwaukee fired Griffin “largely because the organisation came to believe they could find an upgrade on the young coach that gave them a better chance to compete for a championship”.
ESPN also said that the Bucks and Rivers “negotiated deep into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning before reaching agreement on a deal”.
Rivers has guided teams to 16 straight winning seasons since he won the title with the Celtics in 2008.
He was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 and ranks ninth on the all-time list for coaching wins. Rivers was also an All-Star point guard who played 864 games from 1983-96.
However, he carries some play-off baggage having seen his teams toppled four times when leading a series 3-2. Teams coached by Rivers had won only six of 16 play-off Game 7s.
But ESPN reported that the Bucks, who won the NBA title in 2021, believe Rivers has the experience to coach the team’s stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who was recruited in the off-season to form an All-Star duo that could propel them back to the top.
Rivers has history in Milwaukee, where he was an All-American guard for Marquette University in the early 1980s.
“We wish Doc well and we look forward to documenting the next chapter of his coaching career,” David Roberts, ESPN’s head of event and studio production, said in a statement.
In the first game since Griffin’s dismissal, Antetokounmpo scored 35 points to lead the Bucks to a 126-116 win over Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan 24.
The “Greek Freak” finished with his seventh triple-double of the season, racking up 18 rebounds and 10 assists. Lillard added 28 points, while Khris Middleton scored 24.
Cleveland, who had won eight in a row, were led by Donovan Mitchell’s 23 points. AFP, REUTERS
