Milwaukee Bucks Hire Veteran Coach Doc Rivers – Can He Help Them Win A Championship?

After an eight-month hiatus from coaching in the NBA, Doc Rivers agreed to a deal to pick up the head coaching job with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

Rivers left his last coaching job with the Philadelphia 76ers in March 2023 after a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semis, and three seasons that  ultimately did not meet Sixers’ fans expectations. Since then Rivers has picked up a gig as an ESPN analyst, commentating and broadcasting games around the NBA. Now, he’ll return to coaching, filling in the shoes of a well-established leader in Adrian Griffin.

Bucks GM Jon Horst originally hired Griffin under heavy expectations filling in the role that Mike Budenholzer played, and despite his parting ways with the team, sources have said that Horst believes Griffin will develop into a good NBA head coach, but has lost faith that Griffin will realize his potential within the Bucks short window to win another championship.

The Bucks were second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record after 43 games this season when Griffin was fired. Introducing Rivers to this Bucks team brings in a history of coaching star players and tandems around the league, and it seems like Horst might want Rivers’ experience to maximize the potential between their two stars- Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Rivers has had 16 straight winning seasons since he won his one-and-only title with the Celtics in 2008, but he also has ten career Game 7 losses, with an active streak of five straight.

The Bucks are heavily favored to make the postseason, but they want more. Since their first NBA championship in 1971, it took 50 years to get another in 2021. Bucks fans will hope that Rivers can win another title and establish a new standard for this franchise, where they hopefully won’t have to wait another 50 years for a championship.