The Questions and Answers: Mike Budenholzer is eager to begin the next chapter in Phoenix

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During the NBA season, a head coach might speak to reporters four or five times between games. After the game, after practice, after practice again, after shootaround, before the game… After a while it can get a little irritating, especially when this chatter is accompanied by defeats.

Then there was Mike Budenholzer, who appeared full of enthusiasm and certainly with gusto at the recent National Basketball Coaches Association meeting in Chicago. Budenholzer looked fit, springy and ready to play in his first season with the Phoenix Suns.

In addition, the 55-year-old – two-time Coach of the Year (Atlanta 2015, Milwaukee 2019) – has not suffered a defeat since April 26, 2023, the longest such break in an NBA coaching career ever began in 1996, when he was a clipboard stopped next to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich. The 2023-24 season was Budenholzer's first absence from the league since then, more than 500 days having passed since the Bucks released him following their first-round loss to Miami.

Now he's back, with a box full of shiny toys and a mission to do better than the Suns' 49-33 record, a sixth seed in the West and their abrupt 4-0 playoff exit to Minnesota.

NBA.com: Welcome back. Did you miss us?

Budenholzer: I'm incredibly excited. With the players in Phoenix, the talent on the roster, I just feel lucky to be able to coach this team in this city. I feel like there's a lot of potential, not just in the short term but also in the long term.

I forgot you were from Arizona.

Yes, I grew up in a very small town [Holbrook] in northern Arizona. It's a very nice piece at that. I grew up a Suns fan listening to Al McCoy on the radio and TV.

Who was your favorite Suns player as a kid?

Probably Paul Westphal. But you know, Walter Davis, Alvan Adams, Van Arsdale brothers. Truck Robinson, all those guys.

What's the key to leveraging the talents of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beat and the team's overall potential?

Enabling players to play together. Play quickly. Compete at a high level. We have to be competitive defensively. And offensively it means doing all the little things for each other. We have a lot of talent. It's simply about finding ways for them to be their best.

An 82-game NBA season lasts about 4,000 minutes. One glaring statistic is that Durant, Booker and Beal were on the floor together for just 863 minutes. In total they missed 50 games. Was that just bad luck?

Health is certainly the key to the success of any team. Logically, the better the health of KD, Book and Brad, the better off we are. As we keep them on the pitch together for a significant portion of the season, their natural abilities will influence victory and be of great benefit to us.

Booker earned rave reviews for how he fit into Team USA's mold at the Paris Olympics. Steve Kerr [the squad’s coach] called him the “unsung MVP.” Durant has shined on this stage before, but what do you think of Booker's performance?

It was great for the entire basketball world, but especially for us in Phoenix, to see what these two meant to this team. For Book to really embrace his role as kind of a “glue guy” – a guy who defends at a high level, who makes big throws, who makes big plays and sets the tone for the team to get off to good starts in big games – he's been incredible important for their success. And Kevin, same thing. We've seen that from him in USA Basketball for many years, and it was the same this summer. We are very proud of both.

Their Bucks teams built their success on 3-point shooting and defensive coverage. How will this impact the staff you have in Phoenix? Do you need to change your system to suit the style of your stars, or are you aiming for some sort of hybrid between the players you have and the style you prefer? [Phoenix ranked 25th in 3-point attempts last season and 13th in defensive rating at 113.7.]

The most important thing for an NBA coach to be successful is to find what best fits his team's talent. That is the challenge for me. You used the word “hybrid” – I think that’s a good description.

There are some things that are just fundamental to win this, no matter what team I played on or whoever, you have to do it. And then there are things that are specific to our talent and what we have in Phoenix. We have to maximize it.

Tyus Jones has long been considered the “best backup point guard in the NBA.” He was the starter in Washington last year, but the team struggled. What does he bring to the table as a free agent addition?

We definitely feel like Tyus has established himself as a great starting point guard in our league and he will Be our starter. If you put him out there with Kevin, Brad, Book and Nurk [Jusuf Nurkic]We feel like we have a strong starting lineup. And a really strong bank behind it.

Tyus can help us play faster. He's great at kick-ahead, he's great at getting teammates involved in transition. But then also in the half field. He's always been a guy with lots of assists and few turnovers. He can organize us. Everyone talks about how much talent we have. Hopefully he can empower her to do her best.

Does he have the power to say “no” to any of these guys at a crucial moment or on a given night?

Hopefully the entire team feels who is in charge. But to have a point guard that has the IQ, the experience, the leadership, the ability to communicate and that everyone trusts – his coach and his teammates – yeah, we feel like Tyus has that in him. He has that DNA.

Any thoughts on your team in Milwaukee, from what that team accomplished to what ended up there for you?

I'm just very grateful for everything Milwaukee has given me. The opportunity is there. The players I had there. The coaching staff, the front office, the owners. It was a great five years. I have nothing but great memories and appreciation.

They're caught up in something that looks as much as ever like the NBA coaching carousel. Or roller coaster. What do you think of it? A few of your assistants – Chares Lee is putting in his time, he's now getting a chance in Charlotte. But Darvin Ham did that, got the chance in LA and then got fired. Frank Vogel won the title with the Lakers, was fired, then moved to Phoenix and was fired again. And here you are. What does it say about your profession?

What I've tried to do the whole time – from being an assistant coach to being a head coach to taking a year off and coming back – there are a lot of positives that come with coaching in the NBA. It's not easy, but if you don't just focus on the things that are difficult or maybe not going the way you want, I don't think life will get any better.

I just feel incredibly lucky to be an NBA coach. I feel lucky to be back. It's never easy, but the rewards and joy you get from doing it are very special

Have you done what so many other exiled coaches do in their “gap years” by stopping by other teams’ training camps or practices?

My approach was slightly different. I would say I did very little of that. I played a little bit of basketball, but I put a lot more time into my kids – I have four kids – and a lot of time into my personal health and growth. Travel. And just re-energize and refocus on a more personal level. With a pinch of basketball.

Have you ever worried that when life feels so good, you won't want to get back into it?

[Laughs] Can I proceed confidentially? No, honestly, it's great to have some time to yourself. Taking a sabbatical at some point in your professional life could probably be a great one for all of us to incorporate into our career paths. But one of the greatest things is coming back. I'm happy about the coaching, I'm happy about the Suns, I'm happy about the work.

You need to be confident that you will get the job back. Or another. Many of us are now taking the step away.

[Laughs again] That's a good point.

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can email him here his archive here And Follow him on X.

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