Joe Prunty and Patrick Mutombo joining Adrian Griffin's Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff
Rookie head coach Adrian Griffin tabbed another longtime NBA assistant to join his staff on the Milwaukee Bucks – and he’s another person very familiar with the organization and stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Joe Prunty is set to rejoin the Bucks organization after spending the past four seasons in Phoenix (2018-19) and Atlanta (2021-23). Prunty was part of Jason Kidd’s staff from 2015-18 and Prunty served as the Bucks’ interim head coach the final 37 games of the 2017-18 season.
Griffin confirmed Tuesday that former Bucks assistant and head coach Terry Stotts will also be on staff.
The Journal Sentinel confirmed the Bucks will add Prunty as well as Patrick Mutombo as assistant coaches. ESPN was the first to report the hires.
The 2018 Bucks went 21-16 down the stretch with Prunty and eventually pushed Boston to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
Prunty also went 2-0 as the Hawks’ interim head coach last year between the dismissal of Nate McMillan and the hiring of Quin Snyder.
Prunty, 54, began his NBA career in the San Antonio video room and had duties scouting and coaching from 2000-05. There, he not only served on a staff that included former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer but P.J. Carlesimo – who was Griffin’s college coach at Seton Hall.
Then in 2005, Prunty moved to Dallas to assist Avery Johnson. The Mavericks went to the Finals that year, and Griffin played 52 games and started three games in the championship series.
After stints in Portland and Cleveland, Prunty joined Kidd’s staff in Brooklyn in 2013-14 and then moved with him to Milwaukee in 2014-15. The Bucks went 139-52 under Kidd and made the playoffs twice, losing in the first round in 2015 and 2017.
Antetokounmpo made his first all-star, all-NBA and all-defensive teams during that time and was the 2016-17 Most Improved Player. Middleton also developed into a 20-point per game scorer.
More: Adrian Griffin connecting with Giannis Antetokounmpo first step in reaching high standard
Patrick Mutombo also joins Bucks staff
Patrick Mutombo, 43, comes to Milwaukee after spending last season on Monty Williams' staff in Phoenix. But prior to that, he had worked under Dwane Casey and Nick Nurse in Toronto from 2016-20. Griffin was on Nurse's staff beginning in 2018.
Mutombo was then the head coach of the Raptors' G League team, Raptors 905, from 2020-22. There he coached Alex Antetokounmpo in his first professional season in North America. Mutombo broke into the NBA in 2011 in Denver under former Bucks head coach and Hall of Famer George Karl. Mutombo has also coached for San Antonio's G League affiliate and at Metro State University under Bucks assistant coach Mike Dunlap.
More: Starting in Toronto Alex Antetokounmpo is forging own path in basketball: 'I’m me and I’m OK with who I am'
Mutombo played for Dunlap at Metro State, a NCAA Division II program, from 1999-2003, where they won two national titles. Mutombo then played professionally overseas from 2003-10.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joe Prunty, Patrick Mutombo joining Adrian Griffin's Bucks staff
