Mike Budenholzer Out as Bucks Coach, Toronto Raptors Could Be Next

News broke out from various sports media outlets late Thursday that the Milwaukee Bucks have let go of Mike Budenholzer as the team’s head coach. It was a sad conclusion to a year that held so much promise.

Barely a week prior, Milwaukee was staving off elimination in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat. They failed to defend home court in a heartbreaking overtime defeat, and as such lost the series 4-1. While that in of itself is disappointing, it came after the Bucks earned the best record in the NBA during the regular season at 58-24. A brilliant campaign can to a crashing and abrupt end.

It should be noted that, apart from the 2021 championship run, several Bucks seasons under Budenholzer didn’t end great. 2019 saw them up 2-0 to Toronto in the Eastern Conference Final, only to lose 4-2. Last year saw them up 3-2 to Boston in the second round, only to go out 4-3. It also wasn’t the first time the Heat manhandled them in the playoffs. There was a 4-1 series win in the 2020 bubble.

Mike Budenholzer as a Toronto Raptors Coach

Speaking of the Toronto Raptors, that team is in the hunt for a head coach. We recently wrote about the firing of Nick Nurse in the aftermath of the club’s play-in elimination.

Like Budenholzer in Milwaukee, Nurse will always be cherished in Canada for a brilliant season, his coming in 2019. Also like his opposite number in Wisconsin, apart from the championship run, the Raptors suffered more lows than highs. Playoff exits came much earlier than fans hoped, not to mention a postseason-less 2020-2021 campaign – although one can put a giant asterisk next to that curious, Tampa-based season.

Of note, Mike Budenholzer was under consideration by Masai Ujiri after Nurse’s predecessor Dwane Casey was let go after the 2017-2018 campaign, as per reports at the time. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton thrived under Budenholzer, becoming household names and, in Giannis’ case, an absolute phenom. Maybe players like Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet can take their games to the next level with the former Buck coach.

The long summer continues for Canada’s lone NBA franchise, with another big name coach now on the market.