CNN –
NBA veteran Doc Rivers has accepted an offer from the Milwaukee Bucks to become the team's next coach, a source with knowledge of the talks told CNN.
The Bucks fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday after 43 games and said they would “immediately work” to hire their next head coach. Griffin had been with the team since June 2023.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement that Griffin's firing was a “difficult in-season decision.”
CNN has reached out to the Bucks for comment.
Rivers coached the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons before the team announced they were parting ways with him last May after three losses in the Eastern Conference semifinals. At the time, the Sixers' president of basketball operations described Rivers as “one of the most successful coaches in NBA history.”
The 62-year-old was also the head coach of the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Boston Celtics, whom he led to the NBA championship in 2008.
While TNT's “Inside the NBA” On Tuesday night, co-host Shaquille O'Neal said he was happy for Doc.
“He has championship experience. He has experience dealing with big-name personalities, superstars,” O’Neal said. “He’s survived on just this one championship for so long, so I’d like to see him win another one.”
In a November interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, Rivers said he begins every coaching season by telling his players, “I'm human and I'm going to do my best, but I'm going to make some mistakes here.”
Rivers said he has learned a lot about coaching as a teacher throughout his career.
“I misunderstood it at the beginning of coaching. I thought you were a basketball coach right now. And then I realized: No, you train life, and that allows you to play better basketball,” he told Harlow.
Rivers explained that he believes to be a champion, “you have to open your heart.”
“You have to take a step out. You have to risk it. You have to step out of your comfort zone. You have to give yourself to the team. …Just get over yourself. And when you do that, it all comes back to you,” he said.
The Bucks have the second-best record in the NBA at 30-13 and host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.