It's tough to argue against the fact that Mike Budenholzer had a reputation around this association. Maybe not as a postseason wizard, but as a guy who could raise your floor, steady your culture and get you to 50 wins with his eyes closed. He did it in Atlanta and then again in Milwaukee, where he led the Bucks to a 2021 NBA championship — and in doing so, briefly reset the narrative around him.
For a time, he was the closest you could have to a Gregg Popovich disciple in this league. He was a tough, no-nonsense tactician who had an excellent understanding of the game, and his teams showed it. More than anything else, he demanded discipline and professionalism of his players, and every time, the level of buy-in he inspired from basketball clubs was obvious.
But that goodwill might be gone now. All of it.
Mike Budenholzer might have just milked what remains of his reputation
After just one brutal season in Phoenix, Budenholzer's reputation as a stabilizer has completely cratered. The Suns, armed with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, were supposed to be a Western Conference juggernaut. Instead, they sputtered to a 36-46 record, missed the playoffs entirely and finished 11th in the West — behind teams actively tanking and rosters cobbled together with spare parts.
The falloff was shocking. Bud opened his Phoenix tenure with an 8-1 start, looking like he'd regained his touch. Even Bucks fans were wondering if it was the right move to let go of their head coach so soon after he had experienced a personal tragedy (it wasn't).
But it didn't last. The team unraveled under pressure. Rotations were clunky. Defensive assignments fell apart. And the offense, which was built around three elite three-level scorers, somehow looked disconnected and predictable all year.
There are plenty of excuses on paper: roster imbalance, injuries, lack of depth. But those don't fly when you're coaching the most expensive team in NBA history. Not making the playoffs with this group? That's not just a bad look — it's a career-altering one.
Budenholzer was always criticized for his playoff limitations. Bucks fans know this well: once he feels like he has a serviceable gameplan, he's going to stick with it come hell or high water. To a fault.
Now, after Phoenix, even the regular season shine might be gone. He was supposed to be the adult in the room and the guy who could get stars to buy in and bring structure to chaos. Instead, he oversaw one of the most underwhelming campaigns of the modern NBA era.
Of course, it would be totally unfair to pin all of the Suns' struggles on Bud. His reputation was there for a reason; he's a good coach, but coaches only have their rosters to work with, no matter how flawed they are. Obviously, his rotations, his system and his overall philosophy could have been better, but at the end of the day, there's only so much you can do with three isolation scorers who aren't fond of playing defense.
He’ll get another job eventually — rings still matter (Doc Rivers will be the first to attest to that), and he just happens to have two of those throughout his career if you're counting the one he won as the Spurs' lead offensive architect.
But the truth is that after Phoenix, it won’t be with the same cachet. And it definitely won’t come with the benefit of the doubt.
Mike Budenholzer isn’t the guy you bring in to chase a title anymore. He’s the guy you maybe hire to clean up a mess. Maybe he's someone you bring in to raise a team's floor. That’s a massive fall for someone who once hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy and felt like a coach you could trust.
No matter where he ends up, though, one thing is certain: he'll always have a special place in the hearts of Milwaukee Bucks fans everywhere. Regardless of what comes next for his career, he'll always have that special 2021 title run, and no coaching underperformance will ever take that away.
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