According to the Associated Press on Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks officially named Doc Rivers of Chicago, Illinois as their new head coach. The Bucks announcement came one day after the Washington Wizards named Brian Keefe of Winchester, Massachusetts their interim head coach after reassigning Wes Unseld Jr. of Catonsville, Maryland to a front office role according to the Associated Press on Thursday.
The Bucks are the fifth NBA franchise Rivers has coached in his career. He was previously with the Orlando Magic from 1999 to 2003, the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013, the Los Angeles Clippers from 2013 to 2020, and the Philadelphia 76ers from 2020 to 2023, In that time, Rivers had a record of 1097 wins and 763 losses, and a winning percentage of .590. He also won the 2008 NBA Finals, as the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. In 2000 with the Magic, Rivers made NBA history as he became the only head coach ever to be named the NBA coach of the year and not make the playoffs. The hiring of Rivers came at a time when the Bucks made the stunning decision this week to fire Adrian Griffin, despite a record of 30 wins and 13 losses.
The Wizards are on the opposite end of the standings compared to the Bucks. At the time of the change, Washington has a record of eight wins and 36 losses. Since Keefe is in charge, the Wizards have one win and one loss. They beat the lowly Detroit Pistons 118-104 on Saturday after losing 123-108 to the Utah Jazz on Thursday. Since 2007, Keefe has been the assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets and Wizards.
