Bucks' Doc Rivers to Coach 2024 NBA All-Star Game; Adrian Griffin to Get Ring, Bonus

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers told NBA insider Marc Stein that he plans on giving his All-Star game ring and bonus to Adrian Griffin. The Bucks' coaching staff will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars, the league announced Saturday night.

Griffin served as Milwaukee's head coach throughout the first 44 games of the season, helping guide the team to a 31-13 record. However, he was fired on Jan. 23 amid the Bucks' struggles on the defensive side of the ball.

Prior to his firing, the Bucks owned a 116.8 defensive rating which ranked No. 21 in the league (via NBA.com). It also represented the worst mark of any team with a winning record at the time, which presented an issue for a Milwaukee squad that entered the season with championship aspirations.

The Bucks announced Rivers as Griffin's replacement on Jan. 26, with Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the former Coach of the Year served as an "informal consultant" to Griffin during the season.

Although Rivers denied the report on Jan. 27, he discussed the bond that he and Griffin shared.

"Adrian and I are good friends," Rivers said, per Jack Maloney of CBS Sports. "I talked to Adrian the last three days. I talked to him the night of the firing, I talked to him, we talk a lot. Listen, I wanted him to do well. I look at him as a guy that - he's a lifer - and for 15 years, he was trying to get a job and then he gets a job and it doesn't work out for him."

Although the coaches of the team with the best record in each conference typically lead the respective All-Star teams, Rivers will travel to Indianapolis if the Bucks own the second-best record in the East.

Despite the Boston Celtics holding the top spot in the conference, head coach Joe Mazzulla will not be making the trip to Indianapolis. Mazzulla was at the 2023 All-Star game, meaning that he isn't allowed to coach in consecutive years due to the "Riley rule" which prohibits a head coach from appearing in the All-Star game in back-to-back seasons.