Nate McMillan

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Lore & Background

Nate McMillan's tenure with the Atlanta Hawks began quietly on November 11, 2020, when he was hired as an assistant coach under Lloyd Pierce. The team struggled, and on March 1, 2021, Pierce was fired, with McMillan named interim head coach. What followed was a remarkable turnaround. The Hawks promptly went on an eight-game winning streak, beginning with a victory over the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat on March 2, 2021, and capped by a win over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on March 20, 2021. Under McMillan's leadership, the Hawks finished the season 27–11, ending a four-year playoff drought and earning the fifth seed. In the playoffs, they beat the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in five games, then upset the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in a hard-fought seven-game series. That series win marked only the second time in 54 years the Hawks had advanced past the second round. In the Eastern Conference finals, McMillan led the Hawks to their first-ever win in the conference finals, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 116–113 in game 1, though the Hawks ultimately lost the series in six games. On July 5, 2021, McMillan and the Hawks agreed in principle to drop the 'interim' tag, with general manager Travis Schlenk saying, 'I'm excited he's going to be our head coach going forward.' The deal was formally announced on July 7. However, on February 21, 2023, the Hawks fired McMillan after the team posted a 29–30 record going into the All-Star break.

In Their Own Story

The Hawks' locker room was tense on March 1, 2021. Lloyd Pierce had just been fired, and the team was 14–20. Nate McMillan, the quiet assistant coach who had been hired just four months earlier, was named interim head coach. He didn't make a grand speech. Instead, he started with fundamentals. The next night, March 2, the Hawks faced the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. They won. Then they won again. And again. An eight-game winning streak followed, including a victory over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on March 20. 'I'm excited he's going to be our head coach going forward,' general manager Travis Schlenk would later say. McMillan had turned a season on the brink into a playoff run that would take the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals for only the second time in 54 years.

Reader's Guide

Nate McMillan served as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from March 1, 2021, to February 21, 2023. He was initially hired as an assistant coach on November 11, 2020, before being named interim head coach after Lloyd Pierce's firing. Under McMillan, the Hawks finished the 2020–21 regular season 27–11, earning the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and ending a four-year playoff drought. In the playoffs, the Hawks defeated the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in five games and the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in seven games, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for only the second time in 54 years. There, they faced the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, led by two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. McMillan led the Hawks to their first-ever win in the conference finals, defeating the Bucks 116–113 in game 1, but the Hawks lost the series in six games. On July 5, 2021, McMillan and the Hawks agreed to a four-year contract, making him the franchise's 14th head coach since the team moved to Atlanta. He was fired on February 21, 2023, after the team posted a 29–30 record going into the All-Star break.

Did You Know?

• McMillan was hired by the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach on November 11, 2020, before being named interim head coach on March 1, 2021.
• After McMillan's promotion to interim head coach, the Hawks went on an eight-game winning streak, beginning with a victory over the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat on March 2, 2021.
• McMillan led the Hawks to their first-ever win in the Eastern Conference finals, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 116–113 in game 1.
• The Hawks' advancement past the second round in 2021 was only the second time in 54 years they had done so.
• McMillan was fired by the Hawks on February 21, 2023, after the team posted a 29–30 record going into the All-Star break.