MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer on Thursday, a week after a shock first-round playoff elimination by the Miami Heat ruined a season in which they posted the best record in the NBA. .
Budenholzer’s departure comes two years after he led the Bucks to their first championship in more than half a century.
His resignation also comes three weeks after the NBA ratified the purchase of 25% of the team’s shares, made by Jimmy Haslam, owner of the Cleveland Browns.
“The decision taken to make this change has been complicated.” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement announcing the decision. “Bud led the team through five incredible seasons, the first title in 50 years, and into an era of sustained success. We are grateful for the winning culture and leadership that Bud helped create in Milwaukee.”
The Bucks had the best combination of regular-round and postseason wins during the Budenholzer cycle. They also had the best regular-season record in three of his five seasons in charge. He went 271-120 in the regular season and 39-26 in the playoffs with Milwaukee.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP Award winner, Budenholzer’s Bucks rose to a height the franchise hadn’t reached since 1970, when Wilt Chamberlain wore a Milwaukee uniform.
The Bucks haven’t reached the NBA Finals in any of the three seasons in which they were the league’s top seed.
They led 2-0 against Toronto in the 2019 Eastern Conference series, but lost the next four games. They fell 4-1 in the second round to Miami in the 2020 Eastern Conference semifinals in the Walt Disney World bubble.
Their playoff wreck this year was particularly devastating.
The Bucks fell apart in the fourth quarter of their last two games, losing 4-1 to the eighth-seeded Heat. They were just the sixth top seed to lose to an eighth seed in the first round, and the only top seed not to win more than one playoff game.
“There’s a huge disappointment when your season is over, no matter what.” Budenholzer later mentioned. “It’s very hard, it’s a very disappointing feeling.”
In Game 4, Milwaukee pulled a 12-point lead over Miami before being outscored 30-13 in the final six minutes in a 119-114 loss, with Jimmy Butler scoring 56 points for Miami.
The Bucks led at home by 16 points going into the fourth period of Game 5, but lost in overtime, 128-126, after Butler tied it with a layup with half a second left in regulation.
2023-05-04 23:28:09
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