New Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer meets with the media at Suns media day ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Hiring Budenholzer back in May was arguably the Suns’ biggest move this offseason, as they decided to fire Frank Vogel after just one season. The Suns reportedly agreed to a five-year, $50-plus million deal to hire Budenholzer, showing just how much trust they have in him to help turn this team around.
Budenholzer, 54, coached the Milwaukee Bucks to their 2021 NBA Finals win over the Suns. He had been out of coaching for a year after five seasons (2018-2023) with the Bucks, in which he finished with a 271-120 record (.639 winning percentage). Budenholzer, the NBA Coach of the Year in 2014-15 and 2018-19, was dismissed after the Bucks lost in the first round to the Miami Heat in 2023.
Before Milwaukee, Budenholzer spent five years as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2013-2018), amassing a 213-197 record (.520 winning percentage) there.
Budenholzer began his coaching career as an assistant under coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs during Popovich’s first year in San Antonio. He stayed with the Spurs from 1996-2013, winning four NBA championships as an assistant.
Combined, Budenholzer has a 484-317 record as a head coach, which gives him the fifth-highest win percentage by a coach (min. 800 games). He is also 20th all-time in playoff wins, going 56-48 in the postseason.
Budeholzer is an Arizona native, growing up a Suns fan in Holbrook, Arizona. His father coached basketball at Holbrook High School for 25 years, won a state championship in 1971 and is in the Arizona Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Budenholzer’s first year with the Suns will be highlighted by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal after they went 49-33 in their first season together and were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns did not have a point guard last season, but now have added Tyus Jones to be the team’s tarting one-guard next season. Owner Mat Ishbia has put together a roster that has a payroll of over $400 million, the highest ever in NBA history, and it will be Budenholzer’s job to try to make the most of it and bring Phoenix its first NBA championship.
In his press conference, Budenholzer discusses adding point guards to the roster, honoring Al McCoy with a jersey band, the Suns’ new 3-guard lineup, Kevin Durant being so great at age 36, Jusuf Nurkic’s offseason, the impact of Bol Bol, reuniting with Grayson Allen, Durant and Booker’s strong Olympic play potentially carrying over to the season, what he brings to the table in terms of a coaching perspective compared to Vogel and Monty Williams and what details he’s already changed.
Here are a couple clips of the press conference:
#Suns coach Mike Budenholzer on what the impact of adding point guards to the roster will be
“For our roster especially, to have a starting point guard in Tyus, I think it puts, not just Book and Kevin and Brad, but the entire group, in a position to be their best.” pic.twitter.com/XpY3EE1aGF
— Burn City Suns Talk ????️ (@BurnCitySuns) September 30, 2024
#Suns coach Mike Budenholzer on the viral videos of a slimmer Jusuf Nurkić shooting 3-pointers
“He’s been given instruction to work on and shoot and practice 3s, and we're going to want to see that in games.” pic.twitter.com/2KalQNoRSv
— Burn City Suns Talk ????️ (@BurnCitySuns) September 30, 2024
For full media day coverage, check out @BurnCitySuns on X and Burn City Sports on YouTube and stay tuned to burncitysports.com for more stories.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
