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0 The Milwaukee Bucks have parted ways with their head coach, Adrian Griffin, after just 43 games into his first season as an NBA head coach. The decision comes after the team’s 30-13 start to the season, which has them tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the league’s second-best record. The Bucks are currently sitting 3 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
In the wake of Griffin’s departure, the Bucks are expected to appoint assistant coach Joe Prunty as their interim coach. Prunty, a longtime assistant coach, has previously served as an interim coach in both Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Griffin’s tenure as head coach had been under the spotlight, given that he was taking over a team with two members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. However, the dip in Milwaukee’s defensive performance had raised concerns about the team’s viability as a championship contender, even after they had acquired Lillard before the season. The Bucks currently rank 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating, down from fourth in the previous year.
Griffin, aged 49, had spent 16 seasons as an NBA assistant coach, including the last five with the Toronto Raptors. Before that, he had enjoyed a nine-year NBA playing career. His appointment as head coach was part of the team’s efforts to rebuild after firing Mike Budenholzer, who led the Bucks in 2021 to their first title in half a century. The coaching change came aMfter the top-seeded Bucks were stunned 4-1 by the Miami Heat in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
One potential warning sign regarding Griffin’s tenure came before the season with the abrupt departure of assistant coach Terry Stotts, who had more than 1,000 games of head coaching experience. Stotts’ departure was unexpected and figured to impact Griffin’s first season as head coach.
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