Mike Budenholzer

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Mike Budenholzer
Pomona (1988–1991, 1992–1993)
Playing career1991–1994
PositionHead coach
Coaching career1993–present
Career history
As a player:
1991–1992Pentland
1993–1994Vejle BK
As a coach:
1996–2013San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
2013–2018Atlanta Hawks
2018–2023Milwaukee Bucks
2024–2025Phoenix Suns
Career highlights
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Michael Vincent Budenholzer[1] (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

assistant coach behind head coach Gregg Popovich
.

Budenholzer is commonly referred to by other coaches, players, and media as "Bud" or "Coach Bud".

Playing career

A native of

Pomona–Pitzer Hall of Fame.[3]

In 1991, Budenholzer played for the Pentland in the Scottish National Basketball League[4] for four months while attending University of Edinburgh.[5] He later spent the 1993–94 season in Denmark, playing professionally for Vejle Basketball Klub, where he averaged a team-high 27.5 points per game while also serving as head coach for two teams of the club's youth system.[6]

Coaching career

San Antonio Spurs

Budenholzer as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs

At the start of the 1994–95 season, Budenholzer was hired by the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a video coordinator. He held that position for two years before being named an assistant coach under head coach Gregg Popovich at the beginning of the 1996–97 season. Budenholzer was part of a staff that won four NBA championships while with the Spurs.[6]

Atlanta Hawks

Budenholzer left San Antonio at the end of the

2014 NBA Playoffs, then lost to the first-seeded Indiana Pacers
in the first round.

Budenholzer was named the December 2014 Eastern Conference Coach of the Month after leading the Hawks to a 14–2 record in the month. He was named the head coach of the Eastern Conference team at the

NBA Coach of the Year
.

On June 30, 2015, Budenholzer was promoted to president of basketball operations in addition to his duties as head coach. While Wes Wilcox was promoted to general manager, Budenholzer had the final say in all basketball matters.[8]

On August 1, 2015, Budenholzer served as Team Africa's assistant coach at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.[9]

On April 25, 2018, Budenholzer and the Hawks agreed to part ways,[10] having been removed as president of basketball operations for the Hawks on May 5, 2017.[11]

Milwaukee Bucks

On May 17, 2018, the

NBA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and also won the National Basketball Coaches Association's Coach of the Year Award.[16]

On July 20, 2021, Budenholzer led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship, defeating the Phoenix Suns in six games, as the Bucks became the fifth team in NBA history to win the title after losing the first two games.[17]

On August 24, 2021, the Bucks signed Budenholzer to a multi-year contract extension.[18]

In the 2021–22 season, Budenholzer led the team to the third seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year. The Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, but fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the conference semifinals.

In the 2022–23 season, the Bucks finished the regular season with the best record in the league. However, Budenholzer was fired by the Bucks on May 4, 2023, after the team lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs to the Miami Heat, who would eventually become the first eight-seed to reach the NBA Finals since the 1998–99 New York Knicks.[19][20][21] As a result of the series loss being partially attributed to Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury,[22] and Budenholzer losing his brother in a car crash during the series, the move was controversial among fans. Some felt it was the right time to do so due to the series loss and other playoff under-performances, while others questioned the validity of doing so due to the injury to Antetokounmpo and personal struggles Budenholzer faced during the series.[23][24]

Phoenix Suns

On May 11, 2024, Budenholzer was hired as the head coach for the Phoenix Suns.[25] He signed a five-year deal worth roughly $50 million.[26] With the highest payroll in the league, the Suns opened the 2024–25 season with postseason expectations, as the team started off with an 8–1 record. However, they ended up finishing below .500 for the first time since the 2019–20 season and missed the playoffs entirely, ending the campaign with a 36–46 record and the 11th seed in the Western Conference.[27] On April 14, 2025, a day after the regular season ended, Budenholzer was fired.[28]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Atlanta 2013–14 82 38 44 .463 4th in Southeast 7 3 4 .429 Lost in first round
Atlanta 2014–15 82 60 22 .732 1st in Southeast 16 8 8 .500 Lost in conference finals
Atlanta 2015–16 82 48 34 .585 2nd in Southeast 10 4 6 .400 Lost in conference semifinals
Atlanta 2016–17 82 43 39 .524 2nd in Southeast 6 2 4 .333 Lost in first round
Atlanta 2017–18 82 24 58 .293 5th in Southeast — — — — Missed playoffs
Milwaukee 2018–19 82 60 22 .732 1st in Central 15 10 5 .667 Lost in conference finals
Milwaukee 2019–20 73 56 17 .767 1st in Central 10 5 5 .500 Lost in conference semifinals
Milwaukee 2020–21 72 46 26 .639 1st in Central 23 16 7 .696 Won NBA championship
Milwaukee 2021–22 82 51 31 .622 1st in Central 12 7 5 .583 Lost in conference semifinals
Milwaukee 2022–23 82 58 24 .707 1st in Central 5 1 4 .200 Lost in first round
Phoenix 2024–25 82 36 46 .439 5th in Pacific — — — — Missed playoffs
Career 883 520 363 .589   104 56 48 .538  

Personal life

Budenholzer is the youngest of seven children born to Vince and Libby Budenholzer.[29] He is of German descent.[30] His father was also a basketball coach and spent 25 years coaching high school and college teams in Arizona before retiring in 1997. Budenholzer has four children: William Vincent, Savoia Elizabeth, Hanna Louise, and John Bent.[6]

Prior to Game 4 versus the Miami Heat during the First Round of the 2023 NBA playoffs on April 24, 2023, one of Budenholzer's brothers died in a car accident.[31]

References

  1. ^ "International NBA Players – Pronunciation Guide". NBA.com. National Basketball Association. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  2. ^ Rodriguez, Ken (August 23, 2012). "In the Blood of Coach Bud". NBA.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  3. ^ "Pomona Pitzer". Pomona Pitzer. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  4. The British Newspaper Archive.Closed access icon
  5. ^ "Edinburgh stint started my career, says Atlanta coach". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c 2011–2012 Spurs media guide (PDF). San Antonio Spurs. p. 58. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  7. ^ "Hawks Name Mike Budenholzer as Head Coach". NBA.com. May 28, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Hawks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer Named President Of Basketball Operations And Wes Wilcox Promoted To General Manager". NBA.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  9. ^ "NBA stars, legends shine in Africa exhibition". August 2015.
  10. ^ "Hawks Part Ways With Head Coach Mike Budenholzer". NBA.com. April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  11. ^ "Hawks Announce Reorganization of Basketball Operations". NBA.com. May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  12. ^ "Mike Budenholzer Named Head Coach Of The Milwaukee Bucks". NBA.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  13. ^ "Bucks name Budenholzer as new coach". ESPN.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "Bucks' Mike Budenholzer to Coach Team Giannis at 2019 NBA All-Star Game". NBA.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Mike Budenholzer named East All-Star Head Coach". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "Bucks' Budenholzer named top coach by peers". ESPN.com. April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  17. ^ Frank Pingue (July 21, 2021). "Milwaukee wins first NBA title since 1971". Reuters. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  18. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Sign Head Coach Mike Budenholzer To A Contract Extension". NBA.com. August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Part Ways With Head Coach Mike Budenholzer". NBA.com. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  20. ^ "Bucks fire coach Mike Budenholzer after early exit". ESPN.com. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  21. ^ "Bucks dismiss Mike Budenholzer after 5 seasons, early playoff exit". NBA.com. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  22. ^ Staff, Eric Nehm and The Athletic. "Giannis out for Game 2 vs. Heat". The Athletic. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  23. ^ Tasch, Justin (April 30, 2023). "Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer's brother died in car accident during Heat series". New York Post. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "NBA Twitter explodes after Bucks fire Mike Budenholzer". RSN. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  25. ^ "Suns Name Two-time NBA Coach of the Year and Arizona Native Mike Budenholzer Head Coach". NBA.com. May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  26. ^ Zeglinski, Robert (April 14, 2025). "After Mike Budenholzer's firing, the Suns are now paying 3 coaches to NOT coach them". USA Today. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  27. ^ Rankin, Duane (April 13, 2025). "With Mike Budenholzer status unclear, Phoenix Suns wrap losing season at Sacramento Kings". AZCentral.com. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  28. ^ Charania, Shams (April 14, 2025). "Suns fire coach Mike Budenholzer after one season". ESPN. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  29. ^ Coro, Paul (June 2, 2008). "Spurs asst. Budenholzer up next". Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  30. ^ GmbH, Perform Media Deutschland (July 30, 2013). "Hitzige Diskussionen mit Pop" (in German). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  31. ^ "Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer's brother died in car crash during playoff series vs. Heat". Yahoo Sports. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
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