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Milwaukee Bucks players have been criticized for excitedly dancing around the court just a day after coach Adrian Griffin was fired.

Griffin lost his job despite the Bucks holding a 30-13 record, trailing only the first-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. His 43-game stint is the third shortest tenure for a head coach in NBA history. 

Reports on Wednesday claimed Doc Rivers has agreed to take over in Milwaukee but the players he’s inheriting looked delighted to have seen the back of their former coach.

Led by a smiling Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks players joyfully danced around in a circle with each other before their 126-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

It was certainly not the atmosphere you would expect to see from a team who saw their coach get fired just 24 hours earlier. 

Bucks players have been criticized for dancing around the court after Adrian Griffin was fired

😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/mF2Xx0SWRC

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 25, 2024

Griffin lost his job despite the Bucks holding a 30-13 record, trailing only first-seeded Celtics

Fans took notice and criticized them for looking so happy. One wrote on X: ‘Being happy that y’all got a coach fired is krazy’.

Another posted: ‘Damn, did they throw a party after Griffin got fired?’

‘Wow they really hated that dude huh?’, said another. 

A report on Tuesday claimed the players had ‘lost faith’ in Griffin, ultimately leading to his shock firing.

It’s claimed several veterans, including Antetokounmpo, were no longer on board with his methods after one half of the NBA season.  

The unrest at the helm, per Sports Illustrated, had been making the rounds through NBA circles ‘for weeks.’

Griffin was in his first season as Milwaukee’s head coach, being hired in June after five seasons as an ᴀssistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. 

Milwaukee won the NBA championship in 2021 and appears in contention to do so again.

It was also claimed Damian Lillard, recruited from the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason, was struggling to adapt to Griffin’s scheme.

‘I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me,’ Griffin told Bleacher Report. ‘You can’t control everything. I feel good about the job we did. I appreciate my coaching staff for all their hard work.’ 

Doc Rivers is expected to take over in Milwaukee and will be tasked with delivering NBA glory 

The organization, which currently sits second in the Eastern Conference, have targeted Rivers over the past 24 hours and are close to landing their man, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The Bucks reportedly turned to Rivers for help as far back as December with the coach-turned-analyst acting as an informal consultant to Griffin at the request of the franchise. 

Rivers signed with ESPN as a lead commentator with Doris Burke and Mike Breen last July. 

Prior to that, he had 24 seasons of NBA head-coaching experience with the Orlando Magic, Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. 

Rivers holds a 1,097-763 record and has only missed the playoffs five times, going without a losing year since 2007 – the fourth best streak in the NBA’s history behind Basketball Hall of Famers Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.

A long-time point guard for the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Rivers is now best known as a coach after winning an NBA тιтle with the Boston Celtics in 2007-08.