List of Milwaukee Bucks head coaches

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball franchise based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team plays their home games at the Fiserv Forum. The Bucks are owned by Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, with Jon Horst as their general manager.

Since the team was formed in 1968, there have been 15 head coaches for the Bucks franchise. ^[1] The franchise won its first NBA championship in the 1971 NBA Finals under the leadership of its first coach, Larry Costello, and another in the 2021 NBA Finals under Coach Mike Budenholzer (the only other Bucks' coach other than Don Nelson to have won coach of the year). ^[2] Don Nelson is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular season games coached (884), most regular season games won (540), most playoff games coached (88), and most playoff games won (42). ^[3] Nelson is also the only Bucks coach to win an NBA Coach of the Year Award while also being one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. ^{[3] [4]} Larry Krystkowiak and Joe Prunty are the only people to have spent their entire head coaching career with the Bucks. ^[5] Mike Dunleavy, Krystkowiak, and Scott Skiles have played and coached for the Bucks. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Skiles was the head coach of the Bucks from 2008 until he and the team mutually agreed to part ways in 2013. ^[9]

Key

GC	Games coached
W	Wins
L	Losses
Win%	Winning percentage
#	Number of coaches [a]
*	Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Bucks
†	Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2024–25 season.

#	Name	Term [b]	GC	W	L	Win%	GC	W	L	Win%	Achievements	Reference
			Regular season				Playoffs
1	Larry Costello	1968–1976	674	410	264	.608	60	37	23	.617	1 Championship (1971)	[2]
2	Don Nelson †	1976–1987	884	540	344	.611	88	42	46	.477	NBA Coach of the Year (1983, 1985) One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4]	[3]
3	Del Harris	1987–1991	345	191	154	.554	21	6	15	.286		[10]
4	Frank Hamblen	1991–1992	65	23	42	.354	—	—	—	—		[11]
5	Mike Dunleavy	1992–1996	328	107	221	.326	—	—	—	—		[12]
6	Chris Ford	1996–1998	164	69	95	.421	—	—	—	—		[13]
7	George Karl †	1998–2003	378	205	173	.542	32	14	18	.438		[14]
8	Terry Porter	2003–2005	164	71	93	.433	5	1	4	.200		[15]
9	Terry Stotts	2005–2007	146	63	83	.432	5	1	4	.200		[16]
10	Larry Krystkowiak *	2007–2008	100	31	69	.310	—	—	—	—		[5]
11	Scott Skiles	2008–2013	344	162	182	.471	7	3	4	.429		[9]
12	Jim Boylan	2013	50	22	28	.444	4	0	4	.000		[17]
13	Larry Drew	2013–2014	82	15	67	.183	－	－	－	.---		[18]
14	Jason Kidd	2014–2018	291	139	152	.478	12	4	8	.333		[19]
15	Joe Prunty	2018	37	21	16	.568	7	3	4	.429		[20]
16	Mike Budenholzer	2018–2023	391	271	120	.693	65	39	26	.600	NBA Coach of the Year (2019) [21] 1 Championship (2021)	[22]
17	Adrian Griffin *	2023–2024	43	30	13	.698	—	—	—	–
—	Joe Prunty	2024	3	2	1	.667	—	—	—	–
18	Doc Rivers	2024–present	118	65	53	.551	11	3	8	.273

• 
  Don Nelson was the head coach for the Bucks from 1976 to 1987.
• 
  Terry Porter was the head coach of the Bucks for two seasons.
• 
  Scott Skiles was the head coach for the Bucks from 2008 to 2013.
• 
  Jason Kidd was the head coach for the Bucks from 2014 to 2018.
• 
  Mike Budenholzer was the head coach for the Bucks from 2018 to 2023.
• 
  Doc Rivers serves as Bucks head coach since 2024.

Notes

• ^a A running total of the number of coaches of the Milwaukee Bucks. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
• ^b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.

References

General

• "Milwaukee Bucks Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.

Specific

1. "Season Records & Recaps". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
2. "Larry Costello Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
3. "Don Nelson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
4. "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
5. "Larry Krystkowiak Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
6. "Mike Dunleavy Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
7. "Larry Krystkowiak Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
8. "Scott Skiles Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
9. "Scott Skiles Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
10. "Del Harris Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
11. "Frank Hamblem Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
12. "Mike Dunleavy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
13. "Chris Ford Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
14. "George Karl Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
15. "Terry Porter Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
16. "Terry Stotts Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
17. "Jim Boylan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
18. "Larry Drew Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
19. "Bucks name Jason Kidd coach". ESPN.com. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
20. Woods, Mark. "Joe P Game for One Final Family Trip". MVP. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
21. "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
22. "Mike Budenholzer Named Head Coach Of The Milwaukee Bucks". NBA.com. May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2018.