The Milwaukee Bucks are hiring longtime NBA head coach Doc Rivers, according to TNT Sports' Chris Haynes.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Rivers' contract is "in the range of $40 million" and will run through the 2026-27 season.
The move didn't come as a surprise. When Adrian Griffin was abruptly fired Tuesday after a 30-13 start to the season, Rivers' name very quickly surfaced as a potential replacement.
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespnThe Bucks have reached out to Doc Rivers and are engaging in conversations on the franchise's coaching job, sources tell ESPN.
Rivers had also served as an "informal consultant" for Griffin at points during the season, per Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic. So it wasn't a stretch for the team to simply appoint him as the new head coach.
The 62-year-old is an NBA lifer. He went from a 13-year NBA career that saw him average 10.9 points and 5.7 assists per game in the 1980s and 1990s to a lengthy career in coaching.
He's had stops with the Orlando Magic (1999-00 to 2003-04), Boston Celtics (2004-05 to 2012-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-14 to 2019-20) and Philadelphia 76ers (2020-21 to 2022-23), going 1,097-763 with 19 playoff appearances, two NBA Finals berths and one title.
His success speaks for itself, though in recent years Rivers has struggled to lead his teams on deep playoff runs—neither his Clippers nor Sixers got past the second round of the playoffs.
Rivers will be tasked with maximizing the upside of a talented Bucks team that features superstars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, alongside Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. That roster reportedly had soured on Griffin.
Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannixThere have been steady rumblings for weeks in NBA circles that several Bucks veterans, including Giannis, had lost faith in Griffin. What appeared to be smart hire last spring just never worked out.
According to Haynes, players on the team "privately complained about their roles, touches, chemistry and constantly questioned the schemes on both sides of the ball."
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added that "Bucks general manager Jon Horst believes Griffin will develop into a very good NBA head coach but lost confidence that he could do it within the timeline of the Bucks' immediate championship window, sources said."
Rivers has worked with star-laden teams in the past. Now, he needs to turn a Bucks team that has been good but hasn't played up to its potential—especially on the defensive end—into a championship-level contender.
