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Former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer caught a stray recently from NBA big man Jusuf Nurkic.
While talking about his time with the Phoenix Suns, current Utah Jazz center Nurkic opened up about the Suns’ failure under Budenholzer, whom he also called an “alcohol addict.”
“The situation we were in, the environment, we were in. And then you find out, well, I don’t know if I should say this. But the guy was an alcohol addict,” he said during the X&O Chat Podcast (h/t BasketNews). “He was really having a problem with it.”
Budenholzer coached the Suns for just a season (2024-25 campaign), and as an NBA champion head coach handling a star-studded lineup that featured the triumvirate of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, many expected the two-time NBA Coach of the Year Award winner to take that iteration of Phoenix to win an NBA championship.
As it turned out, the Suns did not even make the NBA Playoffs that season, finishing with a 36-46 record.
Added Nurkic: “He was literally explaining to Kevin Durant how to score a basket. If he had been telling to me, or Gordon, or Royce O’Neal or Grayson Allen, whatever, but explaining to Kevin Durant how to score? That’s like explaining to a pilot how to fly a plane.”
What Nurkic perhaps overlooked before making that statement was that Budenholzer had lost his brother in 2023, when the head coach was still with Milwaukee. Either way, it was something that the “Bosnian Beast” probably shouldn’t have shared.
Jul 8, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and center Bobby Portis (9) with head coach Budenholzer against the Phoenix Suns in game two of the 2021 NBA Finals at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
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While talking about his time with the Phoenix Suns, current Utah Jazz center Nurkic opened up about the Suns’ failure under Budenholzer, whom he also called an “alcohol addict.”
“The situation we were in, the environment, we were in. And then you find out, well, I don’t know if I should say this. But the guy was an alcohol addict,” he said during the X&O Chat Podcast (h/t BasketNews). “He was really having a problem with it.”
Budenholzer coached the Suns for just a season (2024-25 campaign), and as an NBA champion head coach handling a star-studded lineup that featured the triumvirate of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, many expected the two-time NBA Coach of the Year Award winner to take that iteration of Phoenix to win an NBA championship.
Nurkic shares wild comment on former Bucks head coach Budenholzer
As it turned out, the Suns did not even make the NBA Playoffs that season, finishing with a 36-46 record.
Added Nurkic: “He was literally explaining to Kevin Durant how to score a basket. If he had been telling to me, or Gordon, or Royce O’Neal or Grayson Allen, whatever, but explaining to Kevin Durant how to score? That’s like explaining to a pilot how to fly a plane.”
What Nurkic perhaps overlooked before making that statement was that Budenholzer had lost his brother in 2023, when the head coach was still with Milwaukee. Either way, it was something that the “Bosnian Beast” probably shouldn’t have shared.
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Jul 8, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and center Bobby Portis (9) with head coach Budenholzer against the Phoenix Suns in game two of the 2021 NBA Finals at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
Continue reading...
