Nate McMillan Accepts Interim Head Coach Job with Atlanta

When Nate McMillan was hired during the off-season as an assistant coach for Lloyd Pierce in Atlanta, he fully expected to stay on the sideline as the experienced assistant for the Hawks. He didn't feel that Pierce was in any danger of losing his job, and the fact that he was let go was a surprise. When he was approached to be the interim coach, he said "the thought process at first was that wasn't something I really was going to do, because it was really a surprise to me."

Nate McMillan said he was surprised with Lloyd Pierce's firing.

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 2, 2021

However, after chatting with Hawks leadership, and a little over three hours after they fired Pierce, it was announced that McMillan would be the successor for the rest of this season. 

Nate McMillan on if the Hawks have a sense of urgency to make the playoffs:

“... If you’re looking for someone or something to point a finger at, point that finger at yourself, all of us, because we have to do better and win some games and we have that opportunity." pic.twitter.com/3PCg32tk9S

— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) March 2, 2021

Regarding the inevitable questions about staying on past this season, McMillan was straight-forward about his though process. 

I'm going to take this - and you guys are going to hear me say this as much as you ask - one game at a time. I'm focused on tonight's game, not tomorrow's game. So far as the future and what I'm looking for, I really haven't thought about that.

McMillan was a solid role-player for the Seattle Supersonics, where he played his entire 12-year career. Coming off the bench to backup Gary Payton in the later stages of his career, he was named to the All-NBA 2nd Defensive team in 1993-94 & 1994-95, and led the NBA in steals in 1993-94 with 216, equating to a 3.0 spg average. He stayed in Seattle at the start of his coaching career, as an assistant prior to being named as head coach in the 2000-01 season, posting a 212-183 record before moving on to Portland, and most recently Indiana. Through 16 NBA seasons, McMillan has a 661-588 record.  

Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports