"Knows he didn’t deserve that": Shaquille O'Neal laments Doc Rivers' polarizing All-Star nod
Back on Jan. 26, 2024, Doc Rivers was officially announced as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, following 43 games (30-13 record) with Adrian Griffin at the helm. Interestingly, Rivers was named as the coach of the East All-Stars in the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. However, Shaquille O'Neal isn't a fan of the decision as he talked about it on TNT's "NBA on TNT."
"Like he says, 'it's one of those quirky things,'" O'Neal said. "Accidental, circumstantial, but I like his response. He's respectable. Doc's been around the game a long time and he knows he didn't deserve that."
Before the announcement was made, Doc Rivers had only coached the Milwaukee Bucks for four games this season with a 1-3 record. He secured his first Bucks win when the team defeated the Dallas Mavericks with a 129-117 score on Saturday night.
Despite some questions about the Bucks' defense, Adrian Griffin still led the team to an excellent regular season record. Interestingly, Shaquille O'Neal agreed with Doc Rivers' sentiments that this move by the NBA can be considered a gimmick, given that Griffin had earned the opportunity to coach the East All-Stars team as much as Rivers.
The 2024 NBA All-Star game is set to be played on Feb. 18, 2024, at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers denied being a consultant to Adrian Griffin
Following a disappointing end to the Philadelphia 76ers' 2022-23 season with their 112-88 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal round, Doc Rivers is set to start a new journey as the new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, there have been some questionable notions placed on his hiring, given that he is close friends with Adrian Griffin. It was reported that Rivers acted as a consultant to Griffin, which was then denied by the current Bucks coach, as per CBS Sports' Jack Maloney.
"Yeah, that's not true," Rivers said. "I don't know where that came from. I was never a consultant. If I was, I need to be paid some more money for that because I didn't get a check."
Rivers did confirm that he is a close friend of Griffin and contacted him when it was announced that he was being let go by the Milwaukee Bucks organization. The firing of Adrian Griffin does paint a clear picture of how unforgiving the NBA can be for coaches.
Regardless of a team's regular season record or players voicing out support, an NBA coach can be replaced in an instant if the team's upper management deems it so.