Who is Joe Prunty? What to know about interim Hawks coach replacing fired Nate McMillan
There will be a new man strolling the sidelines at State Farm Arena after the Hawks parted ways with third-year coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday.
McMillan, who helped lead Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals as interim coach, likely had philosophical differences with Trae Young, the franchise’s volatile face. The Athletic’s Sham Charania reported that McMillan even considered retiring later in the year after having numerous kerfuffles with players.
All the drama soiled what looked like it could be a breakout campaign for Atlanta. As of Feb. 21, the Hawks are 29-30, just 3.5 games above the 12th-ranked Pacers.
Atlanta will hand the reins to a veteran who has some experience turning teams. Per ESPN’s Adrian WojnarowskiThe Hawks promote longtime assistant Joe Prunty to the role of interim head coach.
MORE: Why the Hawks fired Nate McMillan
Prunty has worked in the professional game for over two decades, assimilating the knowledge of some of the greatest minds in the sport. Now he’s hoping to get Atlanta back on track and cement their place in the playoffs.
Who is Joe Prunty?
With their promotion of Prunty, the Hawks added another stitch to the quilt that is Gregg Popovich’s coaching pipeline. The 54-year-old is something of an NBA nomad, having sat on the sidelines for eight different NBA teams. However, he started out under Coach Pop and won a pair of championship rings while at the Alamo.
Prunty has since worked with some of the game’s greatest tacticians, including Rick Carlisle and McMillan. His league standing remains high, with Prunty receiving praise from the likes of Brad Stevens and Malcolm Brogdon.
He’s known for being bullish on the game, which should go well with Young’s exuberant playstyle. Nor is he lacking in rerouting a sinking ship. In fact, he did so to great effect in Milwaukee when he took over as head coach after Jason Kidd was fired in 2018. In 37 games, the Bucks went 21-16. Fueled by then-rising superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, The Deer snagged a seventh seed. Despite the efforts of Antetokounmpo — the Greek freak averaging 26-10-6 on 57 percent shooting in the postseason — Milwaukee just couldn’t get past the No. 2-seeded Celtics, whom they defeated in seven games. Prunty joined the Suns as an assistant the following season after the Bucks hired Mike Budenholzer as head coach.
Prunty has never been a permanent head coach, although he brings a wealth of experience on the fringes of the NBA. It also appears he’s caught the attention of Atlanta players, at least judging by this grainy video showing a number of players shooting around with him ahead of a Feb. 13 game against the Hornets.
With Young and Dejounte Murray at the helm and a rather talented supporting cast, the Hawks are hoping for a reversal of fortunes as they attempt to push their way out of the play-in round.