Bucks fire head coach Mike Budenholzer: What’s his legacy and what kind of candidate will replace him? - The Athletic

The Milwaukee Bucks announced that they parted ways with head coach Mike Budenholzer on Thursday afternoon.

Budenholzer, 53, served as the team’s head coach for five seasons and led the team to the franchise’s second NBA championship in 2021.

“The decision to make this change was very difficult,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a news release. “Bud helped lead our team for five incredible seasons, to the Bucks’ first title in 50 years, and into an era of sustained success.

“We are grateful for the culture of winning and leadership that Bud helped create in Milwaukee. This is an opportunity for us to refocus and reenergize our efforts as we continue building toward our next championship season.”

In his five seasons with the Bucks, Budenholzer compiled a 271-120 regular-season record (.693), which was the league’s best record over that time. In that same span, no team won more playoff games than the Bucks, who compiled a 38-23 record (.603) in the postseason in all five of Budenholzer’s seasons in Milwaukee.

Despite the regular-season success, the Bucks only made it to the NBA Finals in 2021 and made only one other appearance in the conference finals, a loss to the Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals. This season, as the No. 1-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks lost in five games to the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat in a stunning first-round upset.

“This team has incredibly high expectations,” Budenholzer said when asked if he considered the season a failure after the team’s Game 5 loss to the Heat. “Jon Horst has put together an amazing roster. The ownership has done what they’re supposed to do. We made a push, we were the No. 1 seed, but all that matters is the playoffs.

“And so, I think we’re just disappointed. I would not use that word (failure). We’re disappointed, we’re frustrated. It hurts. But I said it all year, we love this team, we love these guys, I believe in ’em, we believe in ’em, we didn’t get it done tonight. So, to me, disappointed, hurt, frustrated, I think is more characteristic of how we feel about tonight.”

The Athletic will have more on this developing story.

What will Budenholzer’s legacy be with the Bucks?

Budenholzer’s lasting legacy in Milwaukee will always be the Bucks’ 2021 NBA Championship. That was the Bucks’ first since 1971. He is one of two coaches in franchise history to win a championship.

When Budenholzer arrived in Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo was coming off a second consecutive All-NBA second-team appearance and the Bucks had just been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In one season, Budenholzer put in schemes that turned the Bucks into a 60-win team and helped Antetokounmpo win an NBA MVP. But the Bucks might not have found the level of postseason success they wanted during his five seasons, but there is no taking away the 2021 championship. 

Who will replace Budenholzer?

Finding a coach to replace Budenholzer won’t be easy. The standard that he set in the last five seasons was high. The Bucks were consistently one of the best regular-season teams in the NBA, and both their offense and defense were among the top 10 units during Budenholzer’s tenure. But it’s their performance in the postseason that needs to improve.

A regular complaint regarding Budenholzer’s coaching style was an unwillingness to adapt quickly and an overly rigid adherence to systems and schemes that the Bucks successfully used in the regular season.

With those things in mind, the Bucks could be looking for a proven winner to take over their program. It also could mean looking for a coach who is willing to experiment. No matter who they choose, the pressure will be intense immediately with the expectation of another championship being the goal in Milwaukee.

Required reading

• Brother of Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer died during playoff series vs. Heat

• Aldridge: Milwaukee’s unexpected loss to Miami doesn’t have to be these Bucks’ final words

• Milwaukee Bucks’ offseason overview: From coaching to the salary cap, 3 big questions

• Hollinger: The Heat? How? And what does it mean for the Bucks’ future?

• Inside the Milwaukee Bucks’ epic collapse, and a question that will linger

(Photo of Mike Budenholzer: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

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