Breaking: Budenholzer’s Suns Success Sparks Coach of the Year Talk
The 2024-25 Phoenix Suns are coming off of their most humbling loss of the young campaign last night in 127-104 fashion to the Sacramento Kings to move to 9-3 on the year.
Despite the loss, the Suns are already looking to be on pace to far outshoot the 49-win mark that was secured in the 2023-24 campaign – and one of the most conspicuous changes that were made that has led to this early-season surge is none other than the hiring of former NBA champion head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Budenholzer’s early success hasn’t come without notice – as some have mentioned the two-time coach of the year recipient as an early candidate for a possible third award.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report happens to be one of those that believes Budenholzer deserves a mention in the 2025 coach of the year race early on in the season – and the rationale behind that is below.
“Predictably, Budenholzer has the Suns playing steady and successful on both ends. One of the more reliable regular-season coaches of the last decade deserves credit for turning one of last year’s worst clutch teams into one of the best. Even if you don’t buy a coach’s influence over close-and-late success, everyone is raving about the top-down excellence of the Coach Bud administration.
“”The attention to detail is off the charts;” Suns president and CEO Josh Bartelstein told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta.
“Phoenix won eight of its first nine games, but Budenholzer will be tested anew with Kevin Durant set to miss a couple of weeks with a calf strain.”Hughes on Budenholzer
While it could take a significant surge moving forward to unseat top-level candidates such as Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics – there still is a chance that the Arizona native can factor into that discussion.
Three reasons why his impact has been so expansive – and why that could result in significant traction for the award moving forward.
