The Milwaukee Bucks are undergoing some major changes in leadership. The team is just two years removed from securing a National Basketball Association Championship. But in 2023, they were on the wrong side of one of the biggest playoff upsets in NBA history.
As it followed other postseason disappointments in recent years, head coach Mike Budenholzer was dismissed. The organization hired Adrian Griffin, who'd coached with the team before, to succeed him. And it looks like another familiar face with the franchise will be joining him.
Terry Stotts reportedly to be an assistant coach
Terry Stotts is making another return to the Milwaukee Bucks, Sports Illustrated and Yardbarker indicate. It would be Stotts' third go-round with the Bucks. His first was as an assistant coach under George Karl for several seasons. The Bucks would later become the second of three teams that Stotts has been the head coach of.
Stotts is expected to serve with the staff under new head coach Adrain Griffin. It marks the first time that Griffin has been a head coach. He's been an assistant coach with five NBA teams, including the Bucks. Most recently, he was with the Toronto Raptors, including during their 2019 NBA Championship run. Griffin also played for five NBA teams.
His career also included playing professionally in Italy and being a star in the USBL and the CBA.
Stotts got his coaching start with a pair of CBA teams. His first NBA coaching job was with the Seattle SuperSonics. That was followed by his first tour with the Bucks. He later joined the staff of the Atlanta Hawks.
Shortly after joining the Hawks, head coach Lon Kruger was fired and Stotts was elevated to replace him.
But the Hawks would not reach the playoffs during his head coaching tenure and he would be let go. After a stint as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, the Bucks hired Stotts as their new head man. This time, Stotts would lead the Bucks to a playoff appearance. But overall, the tenure was disappointing and he was again relieved of his duties.
Stotts helped the Dallas Mavericks with the 2011 NBA Championship as an assistant coach. He was later hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as their next head coach. Stotts would finally find sustained success as a head coach. Including two Northwest Division Championships and an appearance in the 2019 Western Conference Finals. But around the same time the Bucks won the NBA crown, Stotts and the Trail Blazers opted to part ways.
Was an NBA Draft pick
Terry Stotts was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa. For a good part of his childhood, he resided in Wisconsin. Eventually, he graduated from high school in Bloomington, Indiana. Stotts would play at the NCAA level with the University of Oklahoma. He was twice named an Academic All-American and to the All-Eight Team in 1980.
Stotts graduated from Oklahoma with a degree in zoology. Years later, he returned an obtained an MBA.
Also in 1980, the Houston Rockets selected Stotts in the NBA Draft. However, he would not make the team's roster for the season. As a result, he began his professional playing career in Italy.
Afterward, Stotts returned to the United States and played for the Montana Golden Nuggets in the CBA. After the Golden Nuggets folded, he went back to Europe for several years, playing in Spain and France.
