Milwaukee Bucks fire head coach Mike Budenholzer

Mike Budenholzer gets fired two seasons after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a title.

Budenholzer was on thin ice with the fan base after the Bucks failed to win a title in 2019 and 2020. Both times the Bucks were the top seed in the Eastern Conference. In both instances, Bud was outcoached by Toronto’s Nick Nurse in 2019 and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra in 2020.

2021 was different, however, as the Bucks were the three seed. They avenged their 2020 elimination when they swept the Heat in the first round. The Bucks then won a classic series against the Brooklyn Nets in seven games. They got by the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals despite Giannis missing the end of the series.

The Bucks then snapped their 50-year title drought against the Phoenix Suns after being down 0-2. Outside of 2021, there were just too many playoff mishaps under Budenholzer, and that is why he is out as head coach.

That still does not take away from the high standards he set once he took over as head coach. Bud was one of the best regular-season head coaches in Milwaukee Bucks history. He won nearly 70% of his games and five straight Central Division titles.

The Bucks failed to repeat when they were eliminated in seven games by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Khris Middleton missed the entire series with a knee injury, but the Bucks had a chance to win the series and came up short.

The lack of NBA titles is why Mike Budenholzer is out of a job.