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Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has criticized his own selection for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, while promising to give Milwaukee predecessor Adrian Griffin his bonus and ring from the showpiece.
Rivers has been named as the coach of the Eastern Conference team at this year’s All-Star event, despite only replacing Griffin in Milwaukee as recently as last weekend.
The honor typically goes to the coach of the winningest team in each conference, however Joe Mazzulla of the Eastern-leading Boston Celtics was not eligible because he coached last year.
The Bucks, meanwhile, clinched the second-best record in the conference after beating the Dallas Mavericks 129-117 on Saturday for Rivers’ first win as head coach.
Yet after enjoying just three games at the helm, the 62-year-old has branded the decision to call him up to the NBA’s prestigious annual game a ‘ridiculously bad’ one.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers has criticized his own selection for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game
Rivers says he will be giving ‘money and a ring’ to Milwaukee predecessor Adrian Griffin
Doc Rivers on being the East All-Star coach:”That is ridiculously bad. It really is… I’ll go on vacation.” pic.twitter.com/6EKa1WulfN
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 4, 2024
‘That is ridiculously bad, it really is,’ he said on Saturday night. ‘Well, Adrian’s gonna get some money, that’s for sure. And a ring.
‘It’s one of those quirky things, I think there should be a rule somehow that someone else does it other than me.
‘Maybe I’ll send my staff and I’ll go on vacation. I’m gonna run that by Adam Silver. Adam’s a good man, I think he’ll understand.’
Griffin was controversially fired by the Bucks last month despite his 30-13 record in Milwaukee, amid reports suggesting his players had lost faith in him behind closed doors.
‘I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me,’ Griffin said after his dismissal. ‘You can’t control everything.
‘I feel good about the job we did. I appreciate my coaching staff for all their hard work.’
The NBA All-Star Game is set to take place at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday February 18, with the likes of LeBron James and Rivers’ Bucks sensation Giannis Antetokounmpo set to feature.
