Milwaukee Bucks dismiss head coach Adrian Griffin

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have dismissed head coach Adrian Griffin, the team announced Tuesday.

The Bucks said assistant coach Joe Prunty will take over as interim head coach. 

“This was a difficult decision to make during the season,” said Bucks general manager Jon Horst in a statement. “We are working immediately toward hiring our next head coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.”

This was Griffin's first year as head coach of the Bucks. Milwaukee hired Griffin in June 2023, making him the 17th head coach in franchise history. Griffin replaced Mike Budenholzer, who parted ways with the team after Milwaukee's first round playoff loss last season. 

"I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me. You can't control everything," Griffin told Bleacher Report. "I feel good about the job we did. I appreciate my coaching staff for all their hard work. I always wanted to be a head coach in this league. I couldn't have asked for a better roster. I got to coach Giannis, Dame, Khris, Brook. Dream come true. Hopefully I get another shot at it, but overall, I'm just thankful."

Griffin only coached in 43 games in the 2023-24 season. Entering Tuesday, the Bucks have a 30-13 record and sit as the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Griffin, 49, had spent 16 seasons as an NBA assistant, including the last five with the Toronto Raptors. That followed a nine-year NBA playing career.

Taking over a team with two members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard put Griffin under a major spotlight at the beginning of his head coaching career. An early warning sign regarding Griffin’s tenure came before the season with the abrupt departure of assistant coach Terry Stotts.

Stotts had more than 1,000 games of head coaching experience, which figured to benefit Griffin as he began his own head coaching career. Stotts had called accepting the assignment a “no-brainer,” but he left the staff less than a week before the season opener.

The Bucks said officials would share more information on Wednesday.