A first-round exit after finishing with the NBA’s best record cost Mike Budenholzer his job with the Bucks.
Milwaukee fired Budenholzer on Thursday, following the team’s five-game loss to the Heat in the opening round of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
“The decision to make this change was very difficult,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said Thursday in a statement. “Bud helped lead our team for five incredible seasons, to the Bucks’ first title in 50 years, and into an era of sustained success. We are grateful for the culture of winning and leadership that Bud helped create in Milwaukee.
“This is an opportunity for us to refocus and re-energize our efforts as we continue building toward our next championship season.”
The Bucks went 58-24 during the regular season and are two years removed from the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1971.
In his five seasons as the Bucks’ head coach, Budenholzer, 53, had a 271-120 record in the regular season.
Last year Milwaukee fell in the second round to the Celtics in a seven-game series.
They lost in the conference finals to the Raptors in Budenholzer’s first season in 2018-19 and lost in the second round to the Heat the following season.
Their 2023 failure, however, was especially jarring with fourth-quarter collapses in their final two games against the eighth-seeded Heat.
“There’s a ton of disappointment when your season ends, no matter how it happens,” Budenholzer said afterward. “It’s a hard feeling. It’s a disappointing feeling.”
One of Budenholzer’s brothers died in a car accident before Game 4 against the Heat early last week.