Milwaukee Bucks sack Mike Budenholzer after playoff exit

An NBA coach has been dealt a cruel blow in the wake of personal tragedy after he was let go following a historic defeat.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – APRIL 19: Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after a call during the second half of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Miami Heat at Fiserv Forum on April 19, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Patrick McDermott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The Milwaukee Bucks have cut ties with head coach Mike Budenholzer after the team were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs in the opening round.

After finishing the regular season with the NBA’s best record the Bucks season came to an end at the hands of the eighth seeded Miami Heat.

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The defeat saw them become only the sixth team in NBA history to lose in the opening round as the number one seed. The Heat made history by becoming the only team to topple the top seed as an NBA play-in winner.

As a result the Bucks fired Budenholzer on Friday, according to ESPN, following the team’s five-game loss to the Heat.

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, took the team to five-straight playoffs, two conference finals and one NBA championship. He had a 263-119 record. Winning Coach of the Year on two occasions.

BREAKING: The Milwaukee Bucks dismissed coach Mike Budenholzer, sources tell ESPN. Budenholzer is out after the East’s top-seed suffered a first-round loss to the Miami Heat. pic.twitter.com/wQp0Zk3lxi

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 4, 2023

“This is a coach who nearly won 70 per cent of his games with the Bucks but I think this is an organisation now ready to hit the reset button,” Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter on Friday.

“They are in the middle of a championship window with Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly at the centre of all that. Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton are potential free agents this off-season. This will be a really attractive job in the marketplace. I’m told the Bucks are going to take their time as they search for their next head coach.”

Milwaukee confirmed the news shortly after in a statement.

“The decision to make this change was very difficult,” said Bucks general manager Jon Horst. “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 reenergize our efforts as we continue building toward our next championship season.”

Coach Bud is gone. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The axing comes on the heels of Budenholzer’s brother being killed in a car accident before the fourth game of the opening round series got underway.

Budenholzer, the youngest of seven children, told The Athletic “he loves and respects (Darvin) Ham and was comfortable confirming what Ham had told reporters.”

Ham, a former assistant on Budenholzer’s staff in Milwaukee, initially revealed the news in the middle of the series.

“Coach Bud is going through a lot on a personal level,” Ham said. “He just lost a brother, so, my apologies Bud if I wasn’t supposed to let anybody know. He and I’ve been texting. I love those guys. They’re a part of my basketball family.”