Bucks fire coach Adrian Griffin 43 games into his tenure

January 23, 2024
|In Bucks
|By Zach Heilprin

Adrian Griffin is out as the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after just 43 games.

ESPN was the first to report the move.

Griffin went 30-13 leading the team but there were issues almost from the jump, including him and veteran assistant coach Terry Stotts getting into an argument following a shoot around that led Stotts to hand in his resignation. There were plenty of issues on the floor, too, where Milwaukee has been among the worst defensive teams in the league.

Assistant Joe Prunty will serve as the team’s interim coach, the second time he’s held that title. He was also the interim coach when Jason Kidd was fired in January 2018.

But a permanent coach is expected to be hired soon, with veteran coach Doc Rivers reportedly atop the Bucks’ wish list, according to ESPN. He was fired last May after three seasons with Philadelphia, where he went 154-82 but never made it past the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Rivers, who played his college basketball at Marquette, also coached Orlando, Boston and the LA Clippers, winning a title with the Celtics in 2008.

Milwaukee is slated to face Cleveland on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.