Former Gopher Takes NBA Job Closer to Home

While the Minnesota Gophers basketball program has been reinvigorated by the hiring of Niko Medved, there were some dark seasons recently. Ben Johnson proved to be among the worst coaches across the entire college landscape, and the program sunk to new lows.

Before Johnson though, Richard Pitino had displayed a level of relevance with the Gophers. Part of that was because of standout talent like Amir Coffey.

Although the Hopkins, Minnesota native went undrafted, he averaged 16.6 points per game as a junior. He then grinded in the G-League and earned playing time with the Los Angeles Clippers. Now he’s coming home, or at least closer to it.

Amir Coffey signs with Milwaukee Bucks

A week ago NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Amir Coffey had agreed to a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. On Wednesday the Los Angeles Clippers acknowledged the transaction and Coffey’s departure.

Thank you, Amir ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/r9148tpYxf

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) August 20, 2025

For a guy who went undrafted after leaving the Minnesota Gophers, and largely flew under the radar, Coffey has carved out an incredible career. He earned the thank you from Los Angeles after spending the first six seasons of his NBA career there.

Coffey played in just 18 games as a rookie, and only 44 in his second NBA season. The past two years he has been a regular member of the Clippers rotation logging 142 games and 26 starts. Last season Coffey averaged a career-best 9.7 points per game and his 24.3 minutes per game was the highest usage rate of his career.

Throwback to when Amir Coffey scored 32 against the Bucks' backups in 2022 pic.twitter.com/4LMVj4gAL1

— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) August 15, 2025

The talented Gopher pushed his ability from deep to a 40.9% success rate from three last year, and he shot 47.1% from the field. As a regular in the rotation, Coffey proved to be a reliable asset for the Clippers.

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Now headed to the Milwaukee Bucks, Coffey will look to quickly acclimate with a new franchise. He’s switching to the lighter Eastern Conference, and will be closer to home in Minnesota as well. The Timberwolves first chance to see Coffey comes on December 21 at Target Center. They face the Bucks at Fiserv Forum on January 13 as well.