Mike Budenholzer

Michael Vincent Budenholzer[1] (born August 6, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the Bucks, Budenholzer spent five seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, serving as an alternate video coordinator for the first two seasons and then as an assistant coach behind head coach Gregg Popovich.

Mike Budenholzer
Budenholzer on the bench during a game in 2011
Milwaukee Bucks
PositionHead coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1969-08-06) August 6, 1969
Holbrook, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Career information
High schoolHolbrook (Holbrook, Arizona)
CollegePomona College (1989–1993)
Playing career1993–1994
Coaching career1993–present
Career history
As player:
1993–1994Vejle BK
As coach:
1993–1994Vejle BK (youth teams)
1996–2013San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
2013–2018Atlanta Hawks
2018–presentMilwaukee Bucks
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Budenholzer is commonly referred to by other coaches, players and media as "Bud" or "Coach Bud," in a similar manner to his mentor Popovich.

Career

A native of Holbrook, Arizona, Budenholzer attended Pomona College, where he was a four-year letterman in basketball and golf and was named the Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1993. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.[2] After college, he 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.[3] Previously, he had a spell playing for Pentland in the Scottish League.[4]

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.[3]

Budenholzer left San Antonio at the end of the 2013 NBA Playoffs to begin his new career as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.[5] In his first season as head coach, the Hawks would qualify for the Eastern Conference playoffs as the 8th seed in the 2014 NBA Playoffs but would lose to the one-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 2015 NBA All-Star Game by virtue of Atlanta being in first place in the conference by the break. Budenholzer won the January 2015 Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award after leading the Hawks to the first 17-0 record in a month in NBA history. He went on to lead the Hawks to a franchise record 60 wins, as well as their deepest playoff run in 48 years. On April 21, he was named the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2014–15 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.[6]

On August 1, 2015, Budenholzer served as Team Africa's assistant coach at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.[7]

On September 19, 2015, Budenholzer was inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Hall of Fame.[8]

On April 25, 2018, Budenholzer and the Hawks agreed to part ways,[9] having been removed as president of basketball operations for the Hawks on May 5, 2017.[10]

On May 17, 2018, the Milwaukee Bucks announced Budenholzer as their head coach.[11][12]

On January 31, 2019, the NBA announced Budenholzer as the head coach of the East All-Star team in 2019.[13][14]

On April 13, 2019, Budenholzer was named the 2018–19 Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association.[15]

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 823844.4634th in Southeast734.429 Lost in First Round
Atlanta 2014–15 826022.7321st in Southeast1688.500 Lost in Conference Finals
Atlanta 2015–16 824834.5852nd in Southeast1046.400 Lost in Conference Semifinals
Atlanta 2016–17 824339.5242nd in Southeast624.333 Lost in First Round
Atlanta 2017–18 822458.2935th in Southeast———— Missed playoffs
Milwaukee 2018–19 826022.7321st in Central15105.667 Lost in Conference Finals
Milwaukee 2019–20 735617.7671st in Central1055.500 Lost in Conference Semifinals
Career 565329236.582643232.500

Personal life

Budenholzer is the youngest of seven children born to Vince and Libby Budenholzer.[16] He is of German descent.[17] 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.[3]

Budenholzer was arrested in Atlanta for suspicion of driving under the influence on August 28, 2013. He was found not guilty of the charge 34 months later by a Fulton County State Court jury on June 27, 2016.[18]

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. 2011–2012 Spurs media guide (PDF). San Antonio Spurs. p. 58. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  4. "Edinburgh stint started my career, says Atlanta coach". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. Jan 11, 2014. Retrieved Jan 11, 2014.
  5. "Hawks name Mike Budenholzer as head coach". hawks.com. Atlanta Hawks. May 28, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  6. "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.
  7. "NBA stars, legends shine in Africa exhibition".
  8. "Pomona Pitzer". Pomona Pitzer. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  9. "Hawks Part Ways With Head Coach Mike Budenholzer". NBA.com. April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  10. "Hawks Announce Reorganization of Basketball Operations". NBA.com. May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. "Mike Budenholzer Named Head Coach Of The Milwaukee Bucks". NBA.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  12. "Bucks name Budenholzer as new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  13. "Bucks' Mike Budenholzer to Coach Team Giannis at 2019 NBA All-Star Game". NBA.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  14. "Mike Budenholzer named East All-Star Head Coach". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  15. "Bucks' Budenholzer named top coach by peers". ESPN.com. April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  16. Coro, Paul (June 2, 2008). "Spurs asst. Budenholzer up next". Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  17. GmbH, Perform Media Deutschland (2013-07-30). "Hitzige Diskussionen mit Pop" (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  18. "Budenholzer found not guilty of DUI charge".
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