A few days after the early playoff defeat against the Miami Heat (1-4), the Milwaukee Bucks parted ways with head coach Mike Budenholzer. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo gets a new trainer.
“The decision to change was a very difficult one for us,” general manager Jon Horst said in a statement on Thursday. “This is an opportunity for us to refocus and work towards another title season.”
The 53-year-old Budenholzer took over the Bucks in 2018 and led to a record of 271-120 in the regular season in five years – no other team was better in this period. The Bucks even had the best record in the NBA three times. In 2021 he led Milwaukee to the title. His contract was running loud ESPN until 2025, with an annual salary of eight million dollars.
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This season, the Bucks, as the top seed in the east, failed embarrassingly in five games to the Heat – not the first playoff series that the Bucks had lost under Budenholzer as the clear favorite. Several decisions by Budenholzer against the Heat had been criticized. In game 5, for example, he didn’t take a time-out at the end of regulation time or overtime.
He also refrained from defending the powerful Jimmy Butler with Antetokounmpo – a measure which the Greek Freak later voiced mild criticism: “It’s a matter of respect that you let the coach make these decisions. But in the end I wish I would have defended him longer.”
Budenholzer’s successor has not yet been determined.
2023-05-05 04:20:00
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