The Milwaukee Bucks' hiring of Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach has given them a breath of fresh air in the role. Adrian Griffin was a rookie, Doc Rivers was a veteran, and Jenkins is somewhere in the middle with several years under his belt but still plenty of room to grow as a head coach.
Jenkins follows the Bucks' hiring of Coach Bud
Jenkins spent six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, taking them from a 33-win team to a 56-win team in a matter of seasons and their first-ever division title in 2022. He was unfairly dismissed late in the 2024-25 season despite the team securing a playoff spot. Across that time, he held a record of 250-214 with three postseason appearances as he developed the young Grizzlies roster into a playoff contender.
Having spent time as an assistant to Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks, Jenkins followed coach Bud in more ways than one. He spent the 2018-19 season as Bud's assistant with the Bucks before getting the Grizzlies head coaching role. Now, he follows a similar path, with him getting head coaching experience under his belt before taking the top role in Milwaukee.
It feels like the Bucks have gone down the route of the old fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Griffin was a rookie head coach and too inexperienced. Rivers was a veteran, and his best years were behind him. Jenkins could be just right with a good amount of experience, but still has plenty of time left in his coaching career to grow.
Regardless of Giannis' future, Jenkins fits the role
During his time in Memphis, a lot happened with the young roster, both good and bad, on and off the court, but Jenkins overall overachieved. He will be no stranger to a franchise with lots of talk swirling around, and that will be the case in his early days at the helm with Giannis Antetokounmpo's future still up in the air.
Jenkins spent a year in Milwaukee, whether that allowed him to build a strong relationship with Giannis remains unknown, but it can't hurt.
If Giannis stays and the Bucks build a solid roster around him, Jenkins is a very good coach who can take them back into the playoffs and push towards where they want to be. If the superstar leaves, Jenkins has experience working with a young team and building them up towards playoff contention as the Bucks enter a rebuild stage.
Milwaukee has picked its new head coach, taking its direction from both ends of the experienced spectrum to land somewhere in the middle. Taylor Jenkins has experience, room to grow, and fits the timeline for whatever the Bucks want to do next.
Add us as a preferred source on Google