Jul 14, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with his team during a time out in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns during game four of the 2021 NBA Finals at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Budenholzer apparently will be rewarded for guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship.
The 52-year-old head coach agreed to a three-year contract extension, ESPN reported Tuesday night. Counting the one year left on his former deal, Budenholzer would be set to remain on the job until the summer of 2025.
Budenholzer has been in charge of the Bucks for three seasons. In his first two years, he led the club to the best record in the Eastern Conference both times, but the Bucks lost to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 conference finals and to the Miami Heat in the 2020 conference semifinals.
This year, Milwaukee finished third in the East in the regular season, but then got past the Heat, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and then beat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
Budenholzer has a 162-65 regular-season record with Milwaukee to go with a 31-17 playoff mark. After 17 years as an assistant for Greg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs, which included four NBA championships, he was the head coach in Atlanta from 2013 to ’18. He produced a 213-197 regular-season record and a 17-22 postseason ledger with the Hawks.
He was selected the NBA Coach of the Year in 2015 with Atlanta and in 2019 in Milwaukee.
The 2021 championship, sparked by star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo, was Milwaukee’s first since Lew Alcindor (who later became known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) led the Bucks to the 1971 crown.
–Field Level Media