What Taylor Jenkins brings to the Milwaukee Bucks

A teacher trying to build a new culture in Milwaukee, as training camp starts

May 6, 2026; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst (left) introduce snew head coach Taylor Jenkins at a press conference at Milwaukee Art Museum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Compete. That was the word of the day for head coach Taylor Jenkins during media day.

The Milwaukee Bucks made multiple changes this offseason both with their roster and their coaching staff. Though the minds of fans immediately go to Milwaukee trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, the hiring ofJenkins has quietly been swept under the rug.

For the past three seasons, Doc Rivers took the reins as the Bucks head coach where he finished his tenure with a 97-103 record and appeared in the playoffs twice before he was fired at the end of the 2025-26 season.

In those two playoff appearances, Milwaukee fell to the Indiana Pacers in the first round, then this past year, the wheels fell off after a 32-50 season leading to the Bucks parting ways with Rivers. In pursuit of a new head coach, Milwaukee turned to a familiar face in Jenkins who spent one season with Bucks during the 2018-19 season.

Jenkins spent six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he became the winningest coach in franchise history, and appeared in the playoffs in three of those six seasons, while also coaching the majority of the 2024-25 season, where the Grizzlies would make the playoffs under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, before ultimately returning to Milwaukee to be the Bucks next head coach.

There is a lot of optimism and encouragement around the hiring of Jenkins and even Co-Owner and Governor Wes Edens called Jenkins the biggest addition in the NBA offseason during their media day after discussing the kind of impact a good coach can have on a team.

"I feel like Taylor Jenkins — we are really, really blessed to be in that same position here," Edens said. "I think he may be the biggest addition in the NBA offseason, as far as I'm concerned. He was the guy that we wanted. We signed him to a long-term contract. I think he's a known quantity to us because he was here before, and then went off and had lots of success in Memphis, so I think that's a big part of it. And you take that and kind of a refresh of the organization, and it's a really exciting time.

As Edens stated, a lot of it stems from the success he had in Memphis and what he was able to do in terms of developing young talent such as Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. In the 2021-22 season, the Grizzlies were one of the youngest teams to win a playoff series in NBA history and reach a conference semifinal.

Jenkins was able to rally a young core of guys to a successful season by creating a culture, which he looks to bring to Milwaukee for another young team.

"To me, culture is more than just a word," Jenkins said. "It's more than just thoughts. It's behaviors. It's actions. So everything that John [Horst] just said, obviously, you see it around our building already. Compete together and get better. This is all with the idea of building the next great era of Bucks basketball."

Jan 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) passes the ball as Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. (7) and guard Ryan Rollins (13) defend in the third quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Getting after it from the start

Competitiveness was an emphasis for Jenkins, and that's what he wants to be the identity for this young Milwaukee team that has already been counted out before the season has even started.

“You see it up on the boards here, like it starts with our competitiveness first and foremost," Jenkins said. "I'm not going to sit up here and guarantee wins and losses. We just talked with the team about developing our winning habits and our winning standards. Well, it starts with compete together, get better. We'll talk about so many other things along our journey together, but competitiveness is the number one thing."

It's not just about building a culture for a new team, but it's also about teaching who is as a person and a coach. It's going to be his responsibility to not only teach during the good and bad moments, but to also teach the organization what he values and what he wants to build.

"I love teaching," Jenkins said. "To be able to humbly have this opportunity to be a head coach in the NBA, I don't take this for granted. But when I think back to where my journey started, why I fell in love with sports as a young kid, why I wanted to be a coach one day, it's truly to teach and serve others. I want all the individuals in the organization- players, staff, my fellow coaches- to learn who I'm going to be, what kind of relationships are we going to build. So I got to teach who I am first before I teach what we're going to do on the court day in and day out. There's always opportunities to teach and serve in good moments, in tough moments. I have to embrace that responsibility. I enjoy it."