PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are hiring long-time NBA coach Mike Budenholzer to be the next head coach of the team.
The team officially announced the hiring Saturday after multiple sources reported the move was coming Friday.
Mike Budenholzer has agreed to terms on a five-year, $50-plus million deal to become the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Suns land the two-time NBA Coach of the Year and Arizona native. pic.twitter.com/FknlqMY6nD
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 10, 2024
The move comes after the Suns fired coach Frank Vogel after his first season with the team. The Suns had a respectable regular season record (49-33) considering they were dealing with lingering injuries to several key players but were swept in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Vogel replaced Monty Williams, who had a 194-115 record with the Suns and led the team to the NBA Finals in 2021.
Budenholzer was fired from coaching the Milwaukee Bucks after the 2022-2023 season. He most recently coached the Bucks from 2018-2023 and won a championship in 2021. He did not coach during the 2023-2024 season.
Budenholzer has coached for three NBA teams, starting as an assistant with San Antonio in 1996. He then coached the Atlanta Hawks beginning in 2013 before moving to Milwaukee in 2018.
Since being in the finals in 2021, the Suns have lost in the Western Conference semifinals twice and just lost in the first round of the playoffs this season.
Team owner Mat Ishbia held an end-of-season press conference on May 1 where he stated that the team's outlook is better than it may be perceived by national media.
"Some of the narratives around our team and our organization, maybe, are incorrect. My perspective is this, we're in a great position. Not a good position, a great position," Ishbia said. "We didn't win an NBA championship so we're going to figure out what do we have to change [...] to be better, to win a championship next year. And guess what, we might not win one next year, but we will sure as hell try."
ARIZONA CONNECTIONS
Budenholzer was a three-sport athlete at the Holbrook High School, playing football, golf, and basketball. He later graduated from the school.
His father, Vince, coached at the high school for over 20 years and was later inducted into the Arizona High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. His mother, Libby, became the first female city council member in 1975. Six years later in 1981, she became the town's first female mayor.
The Budenholzer family continuously gives back to Holbrook High School. Mike has a $1,000 scholarship in his name that goes to an outstanding student-athlete each year. His parents also have a $1,000 scholarship in their name that is given to a senior each year who has shown strong civic and community engagement.
In 2019, the Budenholzer family gave $100,000 to the high school at the unveiling of the basketball court named in Vince Budenholzer’s honor. Mike said the donation is to support the teachers and students, current and future, at the school.
