By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jan 24, 2024 at 11:46 AM Photography: WikiCommons/Huntley Paton

We're still a long ways from the postseason, but there's already all sorts of fast-moving drama around the Milwaukee Bucks. Less than 24 hours after the team announced it fired rookie head coach Adrian Griffin at barely the halfway point of the season, the Bucks today reportedly hired veteran head coach Doc Rivers to take over the helm. 

After some overzealous reports that the deal was done last night, the hire is getting finalized today according to both major NBA scoop-ologists Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania. The Bucks themselves have yet to confirm the new hire.

The big-name deal was apparently a fairly long time coming, according to a The Athletic report from Charania, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm. Their piece notes that Rivers actually served an informal coaching consultant since early December as newcomer Griffin tried to get accustomed to his first season as a head coach as well as get the newly rejiggered Bucks team – now with Dame Lillard and minus Jrue Holiday – to cohere. But as Milwaukee continued to win albeit in often unconvincing fashion and rumors swirled about an unhappy locker room, the team clearly figured Rivers could do better in the role itself rather than just consulting on it from afar.  

Doc Rivers is one of the most famous NBA coaches of the 21st century, guiding super teams like the Garnett/Allen/Pierce Boston Celtics, the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin Los Angeles Clippers and the Joel Embiid/James Harden Philadelphia 76ers to regular playoff runs – and an NBA Finals win in 2007-08 with the Celtics. When he retired from coaching after the past season with the Sixers, he left sitting within the top ten most winningest NBA coaches, with more than 1,000 victories across his tenures. Plus, he comes with a significant Milwaukee connection, playing his college hoops with the Marquette Golden Eagles with his #31 retired and hanging from the rafters of Fiserv Forum. 

Rivers, however, does have his share of demerits on his resume. After his NBA Finals win, his teams have had a reputation for collapsing in the postseason. According to SB Nation, when his teams have three wins in a playoff series, he's just 16-33 in the ensuing decisive games – and of the 13 times in NBA history a team's blown a 3-1 series lead, Rivers was at the helm for three of them. 

But those teams were Rivers' past, and now the Bucks – with two top 75 superstar players – are his present. 

As for on-the-court news, the Bucks will take the court for the first time in the post-Griffin era tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Fiserv Forum. With the Rivers deal still unconfirmed and likely not finalized, interim head coach Joe Prunty – taking his second interim shift with Milwaukee after taking over for Jason Kidd several seasons ago – will be leading the 30-13 Bucks against the Cavs. 

For more updates, stay tuned to OnMilwaukee. And for advice for those going to the game tonight, check out OnMilwaukee's Deer District bar guide and late night Downtown eats rundown.

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.