After making that move, should the Bucks be concerned about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s feelings?

The departure of Oppenheimer, surprised some in NBA coaching circles because he is known to be a Giannis Antetokounmpo favorite

During the midst of the 2023–24 NBA regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Doc Rivers as their new head coach. He took over a few assistant coaches from Adrian Griffin’s brief tenure with the team. The Bucks have reportedly fired three of them, including Josh Oppenheimer, Sidney Dobner, and DJ Bakker.

Such actions would, for the most part, go unobserved. However, a few people have taken notice since one of those assistants is close to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and superstar forward for the Bucks.

Bucks and “whisperer” Giannis Antetokounmpo part ways.

The Bucks’ decision to fire one coach in particular, Josh Oppenheimer, who had been with Milwaukee throughout Antetokounmpo’s rookie season in 2013–14, is said to have taken coaches across the league by surprise (h/t Marc Stein).

“My podcast partner Chris Haynes revealed in a Friday Bleacher Report livestream that the Bucks have also fired DJ Bakker, Sidney Dobner, and Josh Oppenheimer, the three assistant coaches Doc Rivers took over after Adrian Griffin was fired in January,” Stein wrote.

Given that Oppenheimer is regarded as a favorite of Giannis Antetokounmpo, his resignation astonished some in the NBA coaching community.

Larry Drew was Antetokounmpo’s head coach during his rookie season in the NBA (and with the Bucks), and Oppenheimer worked as a player development coach.

It seems that Antetokounmpo and Oppenheimer have forged a unique relationship over time, particularly given that it was the latter who assisted the former in acclimating to the NBA environment during the rookie player’s formative years.

It’s difficult to gauge how much Antetokounmpo’s opinion of Milwaukee is impacted by the Bucks’ decision to fire Oppenheimer, but the Greek Freak must be disappointed by the development.

In addition, Oppenheimer now has the opportunity to consider other alternatives inside the NBA, if not overseas, following his release from the Bucks. Oppenheimer has played basketball and served as a member of a coaching staff in other countries. Thanks to Antetokounmpo, he was able to win a championship in Israel in the 1990s and even get the opportunity to assist in coaching the Greek National Team.

Oppenheimer remained a member of the Bucks until 2016. After that, he served as an assistant with the Houston Rockets during the 2016–17 campaign before moving on to the NBA G League to assist with coaching the Long Island Nets.

He also worked as the James Madison Dukes’ assistant throughout his time in college. In 2020, Oppenheimer returned to the NBA after being hired by Mike Budenholzer.