There will be a new voice on the Suns' sideline for the 2024-25 NBA season.
Phoenix is set to make Mike Budenholzer the franchise's third head coach in as many seasons, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Friday. Budenholzer, 54, returns to the NBA as a head coach after one season away.
The news of Budenholzer's hiring comes less than 24 hours after the Suns announced the firing of Frank Vogel, who led the team to a 49-33 record and the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference but couldn't prevent as sweep by the Timberwolves in the opening round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Phoenix moved swiftly to make Budenholzer its next leader, signifying a strong desire to get the deal done. With the task of leading a roster headlined by Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, Budenholzer immediately steps into a high-leverage role with title aspirations.
Here is more on the Suns' decision to hire Budenholzer on a contract expected to be worth close to $10,000,000 per year.
MORE: Why the Suns fired head coach Frank Vogel after one season
Why did the Suns hire Mike Budenholzer?
Budenholzer's chief responsibility will be to get the most out of Phoenix's star trio of Beal, Booker and Durant.
Given the Suns' payroll and top-heavy roster construction, franchise owner Mat Ishbia has sky-high expectations. Budenholzer, who is three years removed from leading the Bucks to an NBA title, will be expected to lead Phoenix to its first-ever championship.
As the head coach of the Suns, Budenholzer "will be tasked with optimizing" Phoenix's trio, as Charania explained.
With Durant ($51.2 million), Beal ($50.2 million) and Booker ($49.4 million) on the books for $150.8 million next season, the Suns are limited in how they can improve their roster. As for depth, Jusuf Nurkic ($18.1 million) and Grayson Allen ($15.6 million) will earn $33.7 million in 2024-25, meaning five players will earn $184.5 million while the league's projected salary cap figure will be around $141 million, per Charania.
To put it plainly, Phoenix is limited financially. The expectation will be for Budenholzer to take a different strategic approach with a roster that will likely be very similar to the one that failed to win a playoff game in 2024.
Budenholzer is no stranger to working with stars. In Milwaukee, Budenholzer optimized Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton to lead the Bucks past the Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals.
After that title, however, Milwaukee could not return to the NBA's summit, losing in seven games in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals and winning just one game as the No. 1 seed in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Before his head coaching career, Budenholzer spent 17 seasons as an assistant with the Spurs under Gregg Popovich. Budenholzer won four titles as an assistant coach with San Antonio, working with a range of stars that includes Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and David Robinson.
In addition to his championship pedigree as a coach, Budenholzer is a native of Holbrook, Ariz., which is located about three hours northeast of Phoenix.
Mike Budenholzer coaching record
The 2024-25 season will be Budenholzer's 11th on an NBA sideline. He has been named Coach of the Year twice (2015 and 2019) and is on the verge of reaching 500 career wins.
| Season | Team | Regular Season | Playoffs |
| 2013-14 | Hawks | 38-44 | 3-4 |
| 2014-15 | Hawks | 60-22 | 8-8 |
| 2015-16 | Hawks | 48-34 | 4-6 |
| 2016-17 | Hawks | 43-39 | 2-4 |
| 2017-18 | Hawks | 24-58 | — |
| 2018-19 | Bucks | 60-22 | 10-5 |
| 2019-20 | Bucks | 56-17 | 5-5 |
| 2020-21 | Bucks | 46-26 | 16-7 |
| 2021-22 | Bucks | 51-31 | 7-5 |
| 2022-23 | Bucks | 58-24 | 1-4 |
| TOTAL | 484-317 | 56-48 |
