The Milwaukee Bucks need a new head coach after firing Mike Budenholzer and they could hire one of the best coaches in NBA history.
According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Doc Rivers — who was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers — has been mentioned as a “sleeper candidate” for the Bucks job by NBA front-office executives.
“In the hours after Rivers’ firing was announced I spoke with three NBA front-office executives — two in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference — who expressed somewhere between skepticism and outright doubt that Rivers would get another job for the upcoming season,” Vardon wrote. “But then one pointed to the unpredictability of the situation in Phoenix, where new owner Mat Ishbia has traded for Kevin Durant and fired Williams, and another mentioned Rivers as a potential sleeper candidate in Milwaukee, and around we go again.”
Rivers has coached the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Sixers. He has a career regular-season record of 1,097-763 and a postseason mark of 111-104. Rivers won the 2008 championship with the Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bucks have one of the best rosters in the NBA, headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Milwaukee shockingly lost to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in five games, but Antetokounmpo hurt his back in Game 1 and missed Games 2 and 3.
Rivers has developed a reputation on social media as a playoff choker since his teams always seem to be blowing series leads. The Chicago native hasn’t gotten past the second round of the postseason since 2012 when he was coaching Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen on the Celtics.
Despite his recent struggles in the playoffs, though, Rivers is statistically one of the greatest coaches of all time. He’s recorded the ninth-most wins in NBA history during the regular season.
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