Vin Baker connection with Giannis Antetokounmpo to move from Bucks bench to Heat staff

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Aug 22, 2026

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MIAMI — Giannis Antetokounmpo has become the latest Miami Heat star to merit personal accommodations, with former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Vin Baker to join him in the transition to the Heat.

While Baker was not Antetokounmpo’s personnel coach on the Bucks staff, the two have a longstanding relationship, including Baker serving as a minister to officiate Antetokounmpo’s 2024 wedding in Greece.

Baker, the former four-time All-Star during an NBA career that spanned from his 1993 start with the Bucks to a 2006 finish with the Los Angeles Clippers, had been a Bucks assistant since 2018, working on the Milwaukee staffs of Mike Budenholzer, Adrian Griffin and Doc Rivers. He was not retained when Taylor Jenkins was named coach this offseason.

During their time with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo developed a deep appreciation of Baker’s NBA pathway, which included bouts with alcoholism and substance abuse, at one point working as a Starbucks barista as he put his life back together.

“One night we were talking and we had never had this conversation. And Giannis said to me, we were at dinner, and he said ‘Coach, like, your story’s amazing. Like, I cannot believe it … it’s hard for me to even fathom what you’ve been through,’ ” Baker related in an interview last summer with talkSport.

“He was in awe that I had made it back from what I had gone through and I didn’t even realize he knew the extent of it.”

Baker said in an interview with the NBA’s alumni wing that the move into coaching allowed for reinvention.

“I had to learn the game through a different lens,” he said. “Not only was the game different from my playing days, but I also had to see basketball from the perspective of a coach. I had to work hard to get to where I knew I could be, and it wasn’t easy.”

Antetokounmpo was acquired in July along with Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. in the deal that sent out Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and draft capital.

The addition of a personal connection to a star player is not unusual for the Heat, although this is the first time it has involved a coaching role.

Shaquille O’Neal brought his personal security attendant along when he joined the Heat in 2004, with LeBron James bringing in his personal trainer when he joined the Heat in 2010. In addition, Tim Grover, Dwyane Wade’s longtime personal trainer, was given behind-the-scenes access at the Heat’s arena, with Jimmy Butler agent Bernie Lee afforded access to non-public areas of Kaseya Center.

A party who confirmed that the Heat were close to closing the agreement with Baker noted that it would not be as a replacement for any of the assistants currently on Spoelstra staff.

The Heat ended last season with former Heat players Chris Quinn, Caron Butler and Malik Allen working alongside Spoelstra at the front of the Heat bench, with former Heat player Wayne Ellington as well as Octavio De La Grana and Eric Glass working behind the bench.

The Heat have yet to name a coach for their G League affiliate, with Ellington last month having coached the Heat’s summer roster.

Dan Bisaccio, who had been the Heat’s video coordinator, has coached the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce the past two seasons, but is expected to return to a role this coming season on Spoelstra’s staff.

The Heat are scheduled to open training camp on Sept. 29.