Joe Prunty
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Joe Prunty (born February 12, 1969) is an American professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
coach who is an assistant coach for the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA). Previously, he served as an assistant coach and interim head coach for the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
. He was also the head coach of the Great Britain national team from June 2013 until September 2017.


Early career

Prunty was born in
Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...
, and graduated from Fremont High School. He played college basketball at
De Anza College De Anza College is a public community college in Cupertino, California, United States. It is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which also administers Foothill College in nearby Los Altos Hills, California. The college i ...
in Cupertino, California before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in Speech Communications from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He began his coaching career in 1992 in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, coaching at
University of San Diego High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California, serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. In 1970, Cathedral Girls High School, a girl ...
and St. Augustine High School. During his time as a high school coach, former
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
head coach
Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the lead assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a ...
, former
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
pitcher Mark Prior, and former
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
outfielder Carlos Quentin were among his players. Before being a professional basketball coach, he previously worked as a beer salesman for
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products in San Diego.


NBA coaching career

While coaching at the high school level, former
University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
Hank Egan informed Prunty of a possible opening in the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
organization. Based on this tip, Prunty joined the coaching staff of the Spurs as an assistant video coordinator. He left briefly in April 1997 to become an
assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...
at the
University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...
but returned to the Spurs for the 1997–1998 season, eventually being promoted to assistant coach in 2000. During his time with the Spurs, the team won championships in 1999, 2003, and 2005. In 2006, he left San Antonio to become a
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...
assistant coach, becoming a part of the staff of former Spurs player
Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator, former player and coach who previously served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is an NBA and college basketball ana ...
. The team made it to the
2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2005–06 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despit ...
, losing to the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
in six games. The team ended the 2006–07 season with the best record in the league, led by MVP
Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...
, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by
Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...
's
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
. Prunty left the Mavericks for the
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...
in 2008 when Avery Johnson was fired and replaced with
Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...
. While Prunty was a member of the Trail Blazers' coaching staff, the team had back-to-back 50 win seasons for the first time since the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 NBA seasons. He also served as the Blazers' head coach during the
NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...
in 2008 and 2009. He joined the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
as an assistant coach in 2010, spending three seasons as a member of
Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a role player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during the ...
's team. On August 20, 2013, he was hired as an assistant coach by the
Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...
. Nets' head coach
Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...
was suspended for the first two games of the season after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor DWI charge stemming from an incident in July 2012. Kidd named Prunty to serve as acting head coach for the team's season opener against
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
and their home opener against
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
. The team went 1–1 in these games with a loss against Cleveland and a win against Miami. Kidd left the Nets for the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
in 2014 and Prunty joined the staff there. On December 23, 2015, Prunty was named the interim head coach for 17 games as Kidd underwent hip surgery. The team went 8–9 during that time, a significant improvement after beginning the season 10–18. With Prunty at the helm, the team played at a faster pace with a greater emphasis on offensive rebounds, which resulted in a much improved offensive rating. The Bucks reached the playoffs during the 2016–17 season, losing to the
Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...
in six games. After beginning the 2017–18 season with a disappointing 23–22 record and falling to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, head coach Kidd was fired, and Prunty was named interim head coach on January 22, 2018, before they began their game against the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
. After winning that game, for the rest of the season onward, the Bucks would improve just enough to gain the 7th seed of the Eastern Conference in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, facing against the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
in the first round. While Milwaukee would be competitive throughout the series, they would ultimately lose the first round 4–3. Prunty would remain with the Bucks until May 17, when
Mike Budenholzer Michael Vincent Budenholzer (born August 6, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Budenholzer previously head coached the M ...
would be named his replacement. On June 27, 2018, Prunty was hired by the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
as an assistant coach. He along with other Suns assistants were relieved of their duties in April 2019, following the firing of head coach
Igor Kokoškov Igor Stefan Kokoškov ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Стефан Кокошков; born 17 December 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach. He had spent 19 years in the NBA as an assistant coach, with a brief stint as head coach for the Phoenix ...
. He did not coach in the NBA for the next two seasons, but served as the head coach for the
United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...
during the third window of qualification for the
2022 FIBA AmeriCup The 2022 FIBA AmeriCup was the 19th edition of the FIBA AmeriCup, the quadrennial international men's basketball championship organized by FIBA Americas. The tournament was held in Recife, Brazil, as Brasília was dropped as a second host city mon ...
in February 2021. On June 23, 2021, Suns coach
Monty Williams Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who is the head coach of the TMI Episcopal’s boys basketball team. He pre ...
credited Prunty as being a partial inspiration for a Western Conference Finals game-winning inbounds alley-oop play set up between
Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder ( ; born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Te ...
and
Deandre Ayton Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. ( ; born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017 and a McDonald's All ...
. On July 23, 2021, the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
announced that Prunty would be joining
Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to ...
's staff as an assistant coach. With McMillan and lead assistant Chris Jent entering health and safety protocols, Prunty served as acting head coach for three games of a west coast road trip in January 2022. The team went 1–2 during that time, securing a 108–102 win against the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
on January 5. With the departure of Jent during the offseason, Prunty was named the team's lead assistant in the summer of 2022. For the Hawks' 123–122 dramatic overtime victory against the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
on December 11, 2022, Prunty drew up the play that led to AJ Griffin sinking a game winning layup with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. He was named interim head coach on February 21, 2023, after McMillan's firing. The team went 2–0 during his tenure as interim head coach with victories against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets. On February 26, Prunty's tenure as interim head coach came to an end when
Quin Snyder Quin Price Snyder (born October 30, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After being named a McDonald's All American as a high school player i ...
was named head coach of the Hawks. On June 28, 2023, it was revealed that Prunty would rejoin the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
as an assistant coach, joining
Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA a ...
's staff. On January 23, 2024, Prunty was named the interim head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, following the firing of Griffin. Prunty served as interim coach for three games, until the Bucks hired
Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...
as head coach.


National team career

Prunty was named the head coach of the Great Britain men's national team in June 2013 after an extensive interview process following Chris Finch's resignation. The choice was initially somewhat controversial as Prunty had little previous international coaching experience. Prunty's first campaign as GB head coach was summer 2013. Despite being without top players
Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese–British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan that was then part of Republ ...
, Ben Gordon, Joel Freeland, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Prunty began his tenure with a 61–55 win over Puerto Rico in an International Test Match at The Copper Box Arena, London. The team went on to upset Israel in their first game of
Eurobasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France men's national basketball ...
, earning a dramatic overtime victory. However, Great Britain ended the group phase with a 2–3 record, not good enough to advance. Because of this result, UK Sport cut its funding for the team. Despite the future of the British national team looking bleak due to the budget constraints, Prunty stayed on as coach as the team attempted to qualify for
Eurobasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...
. The cut in funding meant the team could not afford the insurance costs required to recruit top players, had to cancel training camp, and required players to sleep in dorm beds and live on £15 a day. After losses to Bosnia and Iceland, the team failed to qualify for the tournament. With funding from
Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded partners, ...
, the team set out in 2016 to qualify for
Eurobasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...
. Their 3–3 record in their group was good enough to ensure that they were one of the four top runners-up in all of the qualifying groups. For the 2017 tournament, they ended up in the very tough
Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA Worl ...
, facing off against Belgium, Latvia, Russia, Serbia, and hosts Turkey. Despite keeping most of the games close, the team went 0–5 at the tournament and were not able to advance to the knockout phase. Due to changes from
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
in the qualifying process for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics that conflict with the NBA, Prunty was forced to step down as head coach of the Great Britain men's national team after Eurobasket 2017. Under Prunty's tenure, the team went 12–42 overall with a 5–15 record in FIBA games. Despite the lackluster record, Prunty is credited with creating a close communication culture within the team that kept the program afloat during difficult times, with at least one player on record saying he would not have considered playing for the team without Prunty as head coach.


Head coaching record


NBA

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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Personal life

Prunty and his wife, Laura, have two children. Brother John Prunty coaches JV basketball at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, California


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prunty, Joe 1969 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Atlanta Hawks head coaches Basketball coaches from California Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches De Anza College alumni Great Britain men's national basketball team coaches High school basketball coaches in California Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks head coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California United States men's national basketball team coaches 20th-century American sportsmen