Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer is FIRED after top-seeded Milwaukee fell in first round
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer is FIRED after top-seeded Milwaukee fell to the Miami in the first round: Dismissal comes after his brother died in a car accident as the team was falling to the eighth-seeded Heat
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Mike Budenholzer has reportedly been dismissed as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after the team’s first-round loss to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat.
ESPN reported the decision on Thursday. Milwaukee has yet to announce anything officially.
Budenholzer coached the last two games of Milwaukee’s season with a heavy heart, as one of his brothers died in a car crash prior to Game 4. He did not disclose the tragedy during the series, but Lakers coach Darvin Ham – who worked as an assistant under him in Milwaukee – revealed the news ahead of LA‘s Game 6 win on Friday night.
‘Coach Bud is going through a lot on a personal level,’ Ham said. ‘He just lost his brother, so, my apologies Bud if I wasn’t supposed to let anybody know. He and I’ve been texting. I love those guys.’
Budenholzer confirmed the news to The Athletic through a team spokesman.
Head Coach Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks has reportedly been dismissed
‘The decision to make this change was very difficult,’ Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement Thursday.
‘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.’
The Bucks won 58 games during the regular season under Budenholzer and entered the playoffs as the No .1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
During the series against the Heat, Bucks MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo missed games multiple games in the series after being injured in Game 1 of the series.
Following the series Antetokounmpo was critical of coaching on defense and potentially played a role in the decision to part ways with him.
‘I don’t know, double-team him more, try to make him pass the ball,’ Antetokounmpo said.
‘Maybe switch the matchup for a little bit, give Jrue [Holiday] a break. I don’t think as a team we made the right [adjustment] or we didn’t make as many adjustments as we could have against him.’