NBA: Milwaukee Bucks fire star coach Mike Budenholzer Sports

Mike Budenholzer (53) is no longer the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks!

After the Bucks, seeded number one in the east, surprisingly lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat, the franchise drew its consequences.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make,” said General Manager Jon Horst. “But this is an opportunity for us to refocus and redouble our efforts with a view to the next championship season.”

Actually, the coach still had a contract until the end of the 2024-25 season. So now the turnaround.

NBA: Budenholzer led Bucks to title

Budenholzer won the 2021 with the Bucks NBA-Championship. Under him, star player Giannis Antetokounmpo was twice named MVP in the league.

He took over the job in 2018. Previously, Budenholzer had trained the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018 – and thus Dennis Schröder there too.

The Bucks finished first in the Eastern Conference for three seasons under Budenholzer, but that success didn’t always translate to the playoffs. Aside from the NBA title, the Bucks were twice eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals and squandered a 2-0 lead against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals.

Catastrophic decisions led to Budenholzer-Aus

In addition: Budenholzer failed to adjust his game plans. Thus, he was overcoached several times in the playoffs. His disastrous decisions against the Heat this postseason finally sealed his demise. For example, the coach had not taken any time-outs in bad phases, especially towards the end of the game. In Game 5 against the Heat, the Bucks lost a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.

According to US media reports, his job before the playoffs was out of the question because GM Horst had a close relationship with Budenholzer. Due to the surprising elimination, everything is different in Milwaukee.

A successor has not yet been found. It is also quite possible that Budenholzer will still have a new team in the NBA in the coming season.