Milwaukee Bucks Fire Head Coach Midway Through First Season

The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly dismissed head coach Adrian Griffin seven months after his hiring, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday (January 23).

"BREAKING: The Milwaukee Bucks dismissed coach Adrian Griffin, sources tell ESPN," Wojnarowski wrote on his X account.

Assistant coach Joe Prunty is reportedly expected to be promoted to interim in Griffin's absence. Additionally, former NBA champion Doc Rivers has reportedly emerged as a "serious candidate" to become the Bucks' next head coach, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Athletic's Shams Charania.

Griffin was 43 games into his lone tenure as an NBA head coach, having previously worked as an assistant for the Bucks (2008-10), Chicago Bulls (2010-15), Orlando Magic (2015-16), Oklahoma City Thunder (2016-18) and Toronto Raptors (2018-23) prior to being hired last June.

Milwaukee is currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record and has won two consecutive games, as well as six of its last 10. The Bucks were a favorite to contend for an NBA championship after acquiring All-Star point guard Damian Lillard in a blockbuster trade and signing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to a massive extension just prior to the beginning of the 2023-24 regular season.

Milwaukee fired former head coach Mike Budenholzer in May after the team was upset by the eighth-seed Miami Heat in five games during the first-round of the Eastern Conference playoffs one month prior.