Bucks players react to the hiring of Doc Rivers as their new head coach

The Milwaukee Bucks made Doc Rivers the 18th head coach in franchise history on Friday and he was formally introduced to the public in that capacity on Saturday afternoon before his alma mater played Seton Hall and his new team played New Orleans at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin on Jan. 23.

Rivers, one of just nine NBA coaches to win 1,000 games, will begin his tenure on the Bucks sideline on Monday when the team plays in Denver. He addressed his new team on Friday morning, however, and players reacted to the hire before and after the games against Cleveland and New Orleans:

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Giannis Antetokounmpo: "Obviously coach is a legend. You can tell like he has great energy about him. From the first meeting that we had to the second meeting that we had he was all about the team, how can we keep each other accountable, how can we touch one another, how can we come together as a team, how can we move the ball. From just the energy that he has, he gives you a lot of confidence. I think he gives the locker room confidence and I can’t wait."

Damian Lillard: "He's a strong voice. And he's going to demand more from our team. He's not going to be afraid to challenge myself. He's not going to be (afraid) to challenge Giannis, he's not going to be afraid to challenge Brook (Lopez) and Khris (Middleton) and all the way down the line. I think when you're dealing with a team that's full of vets and as talented as we are, I think that's something that you need if you want to reach the level that we want to reach. And I think he's the perfect person for it."

Jae Crowder: "He’s just been like a big uncle to me. Obviously we both went to Marquette, a Marquette alum. I remember putting on that Marquette jersey and he’s one of the guys I looked up to. Obviously from afar – I’ve never played for him – but obviously when I’ve played against him in the league it’s just always respect, always a classy conversation between us two about our Marquette background. That’s the connection that I have to him. I’m just happy to play for him, happy to be a part of the journey with him and hopefully get this thing done."

Brook Lopez: "I played against Doc a ton in my career. I'm excited to have him here. I think obviously he has tons of experience. He's been in the NBA, played in the NBA for a very long time. So, it'll be good to have in this locker room, kind of an outside perspective to what's been going on this year on the court with the team. We get to use his outside (point of view) and all his wisdom he has. It's going to be very beneficial for us."

Bobby Portis: "Just always in the running, man. He always is right there in the playoffs. Being there, getting there, leading guys in the right direction. Been a coach for a long, long time. Coached one of my favorite players, Kevin Garnett, as well too, so that’s kind of dope. I can ask him stories and things like that. I think that’s really cool. Played with Rajon Rondo as well when I was with the (Chicago) Bulls and that was his coach as well. Great guy. Top 15 coach. Just can’t wait go get started. Obviously every year in the league is different, man. You go through high and lows in the season, might get a new coach, you never know what’s going to happen in the league so you just gotta stay ready so you ain’t gotta get ready."

Pat Connaughton: "I don’t know Doc great yet, but I was a kid in Boston when they won it in 2008. I’ve been around the league, this is my ninth year, so I played against him a bunch in L.A. when I was in Portland and there were some battle there. I think it’s just the leadership that I think he can bring. He has that same past-player perspective that (Adrian Griffin) but he’s been doing it for a long time. And he’s won a championship."

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Connaughton: "His ability to come in, his ability to command respect immediately, his ability to lead because he’s led for so long. He’s led all types of different personalities, all different type of guys in the NBA. He’s led through different eras of the NBA. I think that will be stuff that will be super helpful to everybody on the team. I think it’ll also have the ability to add some structure and add some consistency to what we’re doing and I think he’ll be able to really mentor and see things from a perspective that not a lot of guys on our team maybe will have been able to do because they haven’t been in the NBA for 25-plus years as a coach, let alone his playing career as well."

Cameron Payne: "It’ll be a pretty smooth transition I think. Everybody gonna buy in and listen to what coach gotta say. His pedigree is outstanding, so we’re going to have a great opportunity and I think everybody – we got vets – I think everybody gonna buy in and see what coach got for us."

Antetokounmpo: "He speaks volumes. You could tell, like, what his built of. He’s tough. It’s hard to take this job. We spoke about it a little bit last time. You lose, it feels like the whole world is ending. You win by five, why didn’t you win by 20? You have Giannis, you have Dame, you have Khris. It’s hard. Nothing is good enough. Only a championship is good enough. We’ve got to that point. Which is crazy. But, I’m embracing it. I’m OK with it. I sleep well at night. I think having somebody, he’s not uneasy. It’s confident, having somebody like that. He makes the environment of the locker room better. We know that he’s played in tough games, we know that he played in two NBA Finals. He’s been there before. We’ve been there one time. We want to go there again. Sometimes having people with experience next to you, it helps you when it gets tough, when you face challenges, when things don’t go your way, like having somebody that can be like ‘hey, I’ve been here before, this is what we’re going to do, this is how we’re going to attack, this I how we’re going to stay together, don’t worry about the expectation, we’ve got to do this as a team.’ Somebody that can give you that guide, that lead, it’s always great to have him in the locker room. I’m excited that he understands that we’re trying to win a championship. I think everyone in this locker room understands that. But there are steps we’ve got to take in order for us to get there."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks players react to the hiring of Doc Rivers as new head coach