NBA, Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks: playoff out, brother lost, job gone! – US SPORTS NBA BASKETBALL

You don’t want to be in the skin of Mike Budenholzer (53) at the moment.

With his Milwaukee Bucks, he was thrown out completely surprisingly in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat. The Bucks around superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo were first after the regular season, the Heat only made it into the playoffs in eighth place via the play-in tournament and then still threw out the favorite.

“It’s not failure, it’s steps to success,” Giannis said in a remarkable speech. The Greek had missed two games in the series due to a back injury. “There are always steps to success. Michael Jordan has played 15 years and won six championships. The other nine years were a failure? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? It’s a wrong question, there is no failure in sport.”

But the Bucks saw things differently. On Thursday evening (local time), the franchise from the north of the country kicked out its coach.

He won the championship with the team in 2021. The Bucks finished three seasons first in the Eastern Conference under Budenholzer. Under him, star player Giannis was also twice awarded the most valuable player in the league, as MVP.

It just didn’t go that way in the playoffs. Twice out in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. In addition, the bankruptcy in the final of the Eastern Conference 2019 – after a 2-0 lead.

Coach Bud, as he is known, has been severely criticized in recent days for his outrageous blunders in the series against the Heat. In Game 5, the Bucks lost a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. Budenholzer stood at the line helpless and took a break much too late. This is how the end took its course.

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The fact that Budenholzer was apparently not quite himself only became known afterwards. One of his brothers died in a traffic accident before Game 4. But he didn’t show anything. Only after the playoff was he confirmed the death through a spokesman.

Budenholzer was Gregg Popovich’s (74) assistant for many years, stood by the coaching legend from 1996 to 2013 before he took over as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. There he trained among others Dennis Schröder. In 2018, Coach Bud moved on to Milwaukee.

It is unclear what will happen next for him. However, it cannot be ruled out that he will train a new team in the coming season. The Toronto Raptors and the Detroit Pistons are still looking for a coach.

In any case, Budenholzer is to be wished that he can leave the tragic events of the past few days behind him and start again in the NBA.