The Milwaukee Bucks are finalizing a deal to hire Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach, with the move shaping up on Thursday and centering attention on the franchise’s next step. The Taylor Jenkins decision comes after the Bucks met with him in person last week in Memphis and again on Tuesday in Milwaukee to secure his commitment. It arrives as the team tries to stabilize after a 32-50 season and a first year outside the playoffs in nine seasons.
Bucks move fast after Doc Rivers exit
The Taylor Jenkins hiring would make him the successor to Doc Rivers, who went 97-103 across three seasons in Milwaukee. Jenkins enters the job after six seasons in Memphis, where he went 250-214 and became the winningest coach in Grizzlies history. He also made three playoff appearances there and was fired in March 2025.
The Bucks viewed Jenkins as the top available option in the NBA coaching landscape, with his player development background, culture-setting reputation and competitiveness cited as major reasons for the push. The fact that he previously served as a Bucks assistant under Mike Budenholzer in 2018-19 also gave the franchise a familiar name at a pivotal moment. The Taylor Jenkins hire is now being framed as a direct attempt to steady a team that has been searching for direction.
Taylor Jenkins and the Giannis question
The coaching change lands in the middle of sustained uncertainty around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo was not believed to have any involvement in the hiring process, and there has been “zero” communication with the team’s upper brass since the trade deadline, sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Antetokounmpo enters the final guaranteed season of his contract next season and has explored trade options with the franchise. When asked earlier this month whether he had played his last game in a Milwaukee uniform, he did not close the door on staying. “That’s a very good question, ” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t know. It’s not up to me. We’ll see. ”
What the Bucks are signaling
The Taylor Jenkins move sends a clear message that Milwaukee is trying to win back control of its future quickly. Jenkins was viewed as the most attractive coach on the market, and the Bucks’ leadership, including ownership, made the effort to meet him in person twice before moving toward a deal.
Jenkins’ one-season run in Milwaukee in 2018-19 means this is not a blind hire, and that familiarity may matter as the Bucks try to reconnect with a roster built around a franchise star whose future remains unsettled. The Taylor Jenkins hire does not answer the Giannis question, but it does show the team is acting with urgency.
What happens next
The next step is formalizing the deal and putting Jenkins in position to take over a team under pressure to improve immediately. For Milwaukee, the coaching search is ending, but the larger story is still open: whether Taylor Jenkins can help settle the Bucks’ direction and influence what comes next for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
