The Atlanta Hawks looked dead in the water at 14-20 earlier this season, but then they fired Lloyd Pierce and had Nate McMillan take over as the interim head coach. The Hawks went on a big run to close to the season 41-31 and then advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.

Trae Young and other Hawks players had their issues with Pierce, but McMillan was able to connect with Young and the rest of the team. The veteran coach did it by changing his old-school approach, which is reportedly one of the reasons why the Indiana Pacers fired him last offseason.

Via Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report:

McMillan, on the other hand, may be the biggest benefactor of Atlanta's long playoff burst. After his time in Indiana ended largely due to McMillan's gruffer, old-school approach toward players, sources told B/R, the head coach has been applauded around the league for switching his tone in Atlanta, and particularly taking a patient approach with Young. He is no longer the hard-nosed 1990s point guard, but the veteran sage who has been there before, offering a guiding hand rather than a stern fist. In today's NBA, that particular dynamic seems to be gaining an increased value for head coaching posts across the league.

As one scout told Fischer, McMillan successfully “reinvented himself, which is rare” in the NBA. After all the issues Pierce had with Young, McMillan changed up his approach and made sure he got on the same page with the superstar point guard. This helped turn things around for the Hawks and spurred the big run.

Now, after Atlanta initially expected McMillan to just be a stopgap, he's in line to get a lucrative extension. He certainly deserves it after the job he did this season. There were even rumblings that he could be a candidate to become the head coach of the Boston Celtics, but they hired Ime Udoka instead.

So, expect Nate McMillan back in Atlanta.