That didn’t take long.
Doc Rivers is being hired as the Bucks’ head coach less than 24 hours after Milwaukee fired rookie head coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday, ESPN confirmed Wednesday.
CNN first reported the pairing Tuesday night.
Rivers is set to land a “very lucrative” contract, according to Sports Illustrated.
The former 76ers coach was the frontrunner for the Milwaukee job, according to multiple reports Tuesday, after the Bucks’ stunning decision to move on from Griffin.
Rivers returns to coaching after a brief stint as an analyst for ESPN this season, and brings 25 years worth of experience to the Bucks bench.
Doc Rivers has been successful in a number of stops in his NBA career. APHe helped lead the Celtics to an NBA title in 2008 and most recently coached in Philadelphia for three seasons, but he was let go this past offseason after he failed to advance the team past the second round of the playoffs during his tenure.
Over a career that’s seen him coach with the Magic, Celtics, Clippers and 76ers, Rivers has a 1,097-763 record.
Rivers takes over a Bucks team that is 30-13 and second in the Eastern Conference, but has seen a steep decline in its defensive numbers compared to last season, sitting at 22nd in defensive efficiency.
Former Bucks coach Adrian Griffin. APSports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported that several Bucks veterans, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, “had lost faith in Griffin.”
The Bucks made the franchise-altering trade to acquire Damian Lillard this offseason.
“The organization came to believe they could find an upgrade on the young coach that gave them a better chance to compete for a championship,” wrote ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Antetokounmpo had previously vouched for Griffin to get the job after the team fired coach Mike Budenholzer after being upset by the eighth-seeded Miami in the first round of the playoffs last year.
In an ironic twist, The Athletic reported the Bucks had reached out to Rivers earlier this season to help Griffin while he dealt with the ups and downs of his first season as a head coach.
The Bucks host Cleveland on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET in the first game of a two-game home set against their division foes.
