The Atlanta Hawks are the latest NBA team searching for a head coach.
The franchise announced the firing of longtime NBA coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday.
The Hawks are currently mired in a mediocre season, sitting at 29-30, after a 21-point defeat to the New York Knicks last Wednesday.
Adrian Wajnarowski of ESPN first reported the news.
The Atlanta Hawks dismissed coach Nate McMillan, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Jjh3qlCnCX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2023
“The Atlanta Hawks dismissed coach Nate McMillan, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote in the tweet.
The NBA world was quick to react to the news:
Assistant coach Joe Prunty is expected to become the interim coach, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/NEzK4x1lET
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 21, 2023
I'd imagine Mike D'Antoni will be a candidate here
He coached Landry Fields when he was with the Knicks, he coached two high-usage point guards in Houston, and he's an extremely player-friendly coach, which the Hawks could use given the friction between McMillan and Trae Young. https://t.co/nPX4vLQZL3
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) February 21, 2023
pic.twitter.com/o1k5wEt7Je https://t.co/mqjqZHdiQn
— Kofie.bsky.social (@Kofie) February 21, 2023
This needed to happen but I didn't think it was gonna happen *today* https://t.co/C3IW40QIXC
— local bIogger (@fergoe) February 21, 2023
Always an incredible flex when Woj drops a graphic with the scoop. Not even a modicum of worry that Shams is going to get to it first. https://t.co/EGv1bHqN3U
— Andrew Joe Potter (@AndrewJoePotter) February 21, 2023
McMillan is a legendary figure in the basketball world. McMillan played collegiately with the NC State Wolfpack before the Seattle SuperSonics drafted him with the 30th overall pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft.
McMillan, a combo guard, played 12 seasons, all with the Sonics, before retiring in 1998. He finished as a two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Teamer and led the league in steals in 1994.
After McMillan retired, he made his debut as a professional coach as an assistant with the Sonics in 1998.
McMillan became the Sonics’ head coach in 2000, a position he held for five seasons. He then jumped to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he worked as head coach until his firing in 2012.
McMillan joined the Hawks in 2020 after a stint with the Indiana Pacers.
[ESPN]
