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Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins as head coach. Grading the move
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- Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins as head coach. Grading the move
The Milwaukee Bucks have a new coach, and it's a familiar face for Giannis Antetokounmpo .
The Bucks are finalizing a deal to hire former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins to replace Doc Rivers, according to multiple reports on Thursday, April 23. Jenkins will be returning to Milwaukee, where he spent one season as an assistant coach under former coach Mike Budenholzer.
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Questions about Antetokounmpo's future with the franchise loom large over the team's offseason plans after compiling a disappointing 32-50 record this past season . Antetokounmpo continues to be the subject of trade speculation, and how Milwaukee proceeds with its star player will dictate Jenkins' initial challenges as coach.
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Grading Milwaukee Bucks hire of Taylor Jenkins
A solid B, and it's not higher partially for reasons out of Jenkins' control.
Not only is Jenkins perhaps the best available coaching candidate with experience after leading the Grizzlies to the NBA playoffs three times and becoming the franchise's all-time leader in wins during his six-season tenure in Memphis, he's also uniquely positioned to serve the Bucks as they confront their Antetokounmpo-related crossroads.
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If Antetokounmpo is playing for the Bucks again next season, Jenkins has experience working with him under Budenholzer during the 2018-19 NBA campaign when Antetokounmpo won his first MVP award and the Bucks lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Toronto Raptors . If Antetokounmpo gets traded elsewhere and the Bucks go into rebuilding mode, Jenkins has a strong reputation setting a culture and developing young players from his time with the Grizzlies.
Jenkins, however, struggled to get the Grizzlies over the hump as contenders with the core of Ja Morant , Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane succumbing to bad injury luck, immaturity and poor half-court offense in the postseason. Jenkins still must prove he's a championship-caliber coach in Milwaukee.
But like with so many things related to the Bucks at the moment, the trajectory of this hire will depend on the immediate decision facing the front office and Antetokounmpo.
Why was Taylor Jenkins fired by Memphis Grizzlies ?
Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman stunned the NBA when he fired Jenkins on March 28, 2025 with just nine games remaining in the regular season. Memphis struggled to a 9-13 record over his final 22 games, a stretch in which it did not defeat a team with a record above .500. It came on the heels of Jenkins instituting a staff overhaul the previous offseason at the behest of the Grizzlies' front office.
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Kleiman called the firing of Jenkins "a difficult decision" at the time and said he did not consult with players. "This decision is mine and mine only," Kleiman told reporters, but declined to discuss his exact reasoning for firing Jenkins.
Tuomas Iisalo was named interim coach in Jenkins' place and eventually became the franchise's permanent choice as head coach for this past season.
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Taylor Jenkins coaching record
Jenkins, 41, compiled a 250-214 overall record over six seasons as the Grizzlies coach. He made the NBA playoffs three times and advanced to the conference semifinals once in 2022, when he also finished second in NBA coach of the year voting.
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He was previously an assistant for Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks for five seasons and got his start within the San Antonio Spurs organization, including one season as the head coach of its NBA Development League team (2012-13).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins as head coach: Grades, reaction, analysis
