Hawks fire head coach Nate McMillan amid underwhelming start

McMillan was 99-80 in three seasons — really two-and-a-half — with Atlanta.

He was an assistant under Lloyd Pierce in 2020 and took over as interim coach and ultimately head coach when Pierce was fired. McMillan led the Hawks to the playoffs that season thanks to a 27-11 record under his interim leadership, and he led the team to an improbable run to the Eastern Conference finals before being ousted by the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.

“I would like to thank Nate for his leadership and professionalism during his time with the Hawks. He is truly a class act, and we appreciate the graciousness and work ethic he brought with him every day,” Fields said, via the team website. “Decisions like these, especially in-season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way.”

The Hawks were ousted in the first round of the playoffs in 2021-22 and are currently three games in back of the Miami Heat in the Southeast conference and ranked as the eighth team in the East heading into the second half of the 2022-23 season.