Nate McMillan Sheds 'Interim' From Hawks Head Coach Title

ATLANTA — After leading the team from a losing record to the NBA Eastern Conference Championship, Nate McMillan’s “interim” distinction was dropped from his Hawks head coach title.

During a Monday media call, Atlanta Hawks President and General Manager Travis Schlenk told reporters McMillan would be the head coach for the upcoming season, a Hawks spokesperson confirmed after the call.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the network's NBA reporter known for tweeting exclusive breaking news called “Woj-bombs,” a new nugget dropped immediately after the announcement and cited an unnamed source claiming McMillan had secured a four-year contract.

McMillan took the reins of the team at the beginning of March when the Hawks organization fired then-coach Lloyd Pierce, who had a season record of 14 and 20 with four losses out of the last six games he coached.

Under McMillan, the Hawks finished the regular season with a 27-11 record and went through the playoffs as the Cinderella Story. They trounced the New York Knicks in a four-games-to-one route, then stole back-to-back comeback wins — including a team-record 26-point rebound — to eventually defeat the Philadelphia ‘76ers in the best of seven games.

But the team’s upstart season was ended by the Milwaukee Bucks — helped to some degree by a deep bone bruise that sidelined Atlanta's star point guard Trae Young for two games — who won the Eastern Conference Finals four games to two.

It was only then, after being closed out Saturday night in Atlanta 118-107, the Hawks' brass moved to solidify McMillan as the team’s head coach.

See also: MRI Shows Bone Bruise For Hawks' Young, Whose Status Is Uncertain