One of the the biggest decisions of the NBA offseason was the Milwaukee Bucks settling on Adrian Griffin as their next head coach. Perennial championship contenders after five seasons with Mike Budenholzer changed the direction of the franchise, it was vital that they find the right person to continue to raise expectations. That is why the front office included Giannis Antetokounmpo in their decision-making.
Related: Milwaukee Bucks: Adrian Griffin’s Recent Comments Point to Return of 2 Key Players
When Griffin introduced Griffin to the Milwaukee media, he discussed how much Griffin impressed everyone at every step of the process. As it turns out, though, Griffin may have had the upper leg on several candidates because he is a former NBA player.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Only Wanted a Former Player as the Next Head Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bucks were really high on Kelvin Sampson and Monty Williams during the hiring process. Giannis shot both of them down as potential candidates, however, as neither is a former NBA player:
“It has been well-chronicled that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted a former NBA player to be hired as Milwaukee’s new head coach, which proved to be a decisive driver in the hiring of Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin to replace Mike Budenholzer. But the Bucks, league sources say, indeed registered strong interest in University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, as well as presumed top choice Monty Williams, before the focus of the search shifted to Griffin.”
It is interesting that none of the Bucks’ other reported finalists were former players either. Kenny Atkinson did play professionally in Europe for over a decade, but never made it to the NBA as a player. Nick Nurse’s professional playing career abroad lasted just one season.
Why Would Giannis Antetokounmpo Want a Former Player to Coach the Milwaukee Bucks?
Prior to Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks were coached by Jason Kidd, himself a Hall of Fame player. While Giannis has yet to explicitly say anything negative about Budenholzer, he did state at the end of Milwaukee’s playoff run this year that he did not agree with some of the coaching decisions. Perhaps he thinks that a former NBA player will make more agreeable decisions late in games.
It is worth noting, too, that Bucks forward Bobby Portis identified losing assistant coach Darvin Ham was “the only thing that hurt” the team this season. Ham, of course, is a former NBA player and is now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Perhaps losing Ham’s voice as a former player really did affect the confusing late-game decisions Budenholzer made.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
4 Comments
Monty Williams is a former NBA player though 🤷🏿♂️
Monty Williams actually played several seasons in the NBA.
Monty Williams played in the NBA from 1994 to 2003
Monty Williams is a former player.