Bucks Coach Adrian Griffin Sees ‘Championship Foundation’

The Milwaukee Bucks introduced Adrian Griffin as their new NBA head coach on June 6, and the former shooting guard is excited to get to work.

“The foundation has already been laid. This is a strong culture,” Griffin said. We have special talent on this team, so this wasn’t something where I was coming in to uproot everything, it’s to build. I think with my 25 years of experience in the NBA, I can add great value to the team just bringing my experiences as a player and a coach.”

The Bucks are led by All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Milwaukee won the 2021 championship over the Phoenix Suns but hasn’t had postseason success since then.

The Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals and were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.

“We have high expectations, but we are going to embrace them,” Griffin said. “It starts with getting to work and never losing site of the work involved. I think going undrafted and going the minor league route taught me the value of hard work and that’s what we are going to build upon from Day 1.”

Antetokounmpo signed off the Bucks’ hiring of Griffin. The two-time MVP spoke with Griffin during the hiring process.

“I can tell you, I left the conversation in awe,” Griffin said about Giannis. “You’re talking about a guy that is super passionate about bringing another championship to the city of Milwaukee. He was very humble, he was very hungry, and those are the traits we are looking for in all our players. I had the opportunity to reach out to all the players, and that was the common theme with all of them – that they are hungry.

“That’s going to be our motto this year. We are going to put in the work, we aren’t going to take anything for granted, and we are gearing up for April, May, and June.”