Nate McMillan has been fired as the head coach of Indiana Pacers on Wednesday after just 4 seasons, having joined the Pacers in the 2016-17 season.

Kevin Pritchard, who is the President of the Pacers Basketball Operations, made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday, revealing that the decision was a tough one to make.

“On behalf of the Simon family and the Pacers organization, I’d like to thank Nate for his years with the team. This was a very hard decision for us to make, but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction. Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times, and it was an honor to work with him for those 11 years (in Indiana and Portland).” Kevin Pritchard was quoted in a statement made available on the team’s Twitter Handle.

An immediate search for a replacement is already on, and Houston Rocket’s Mike D’Antoni is a target as he is on the final year of his contract with the Rockets, and should he be available, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that he may be approached.

Surprisingly, McMillan only just signed an extension with the Pacers on the 12th of August, having ended 4th seed to make the 2020 playoffs but lost 4-0 in the series against Miami Heat.

The Rockets lost Game four of the series by 99-87 to the Pacers three days ago.

Meanwhile, the NBA has announced Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks as the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday morning.

Giannis wins the award after finishing second place last year, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett as one of the few players who have won the NBA MVP and NBA Defensive Player of the Year in their career.

 
 
Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu