Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was reportedly given a stunning amount of influence on the team’s final decision for their next head coach.
The Miami Heat have been one of the biggest stories of the 2023 NBA Playoffs as they have made history in being the first Play-In tournament team to reach the NBA Finals. And their shocking run to the championship series all began with a completely unexpected upset of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Related: NBA games today – Get watch times and odds for the NBA Finals
While there could be changes to the roster in the fallout of the Bucks’ stunning opening-round elimination, the first casualty from the disappointing finish to their 2022-2023 season was head coach Mike Budenholzer. Despite helping lead the team to an NBA title two years ago and having an outstanding run as head coach, the standard has changed for the organization in recent years.
Especially since they have one of the very best players in the sport, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Following Budenholzer’s dismissal, many around the NBA figured the team would choose a big-name former head coach to lead the team. However, they surprised last week by picking long-time assistant Adrian Griffin to be their next head coach.
Giannis Antetokounmpo met with finalists for Milwaukee Bucks head coach job
Well, a new report from The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania paints an interesting picture of how the Milwaukee Bucks came to that decision, and it seems that Giannis Antetokounmpo was given an unusual amount of influence on that final choice, including sit-downs with finalists Nick Nurse, Griffin, and Kenny Atkinson.
“Interestingly, they all met with Giannis Antetokounmpo before any hiring was made. And then ownership, Giannis, Jon Horst their general manager, they all huddled up to figure out exactly who the coach would be. But the fact that Giannis was so involved in the process a couple of years out from his player option is very noticeable. From what I was told, Giannis was pretty vehemently against any other candidate except Adrian Griffin. He really vouched and advocated for Griffin to get the job.”
– Shams Charania
In Charania’s opinion, and from what he’s heard, Griffin being a former player, his defensive scheme, and experience on many staffs were key in Giannis Antetokounmpo taking a hard stance on him being the team’s next head coach.
Griffin has previously served as an assistant for the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and most recently the Toronto Raptors.