PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are hoping that hometown guy Mike Budenholzer is the answer, officially introducing him to the valley Friday afternoon in a move that the front office is hoping will unlock the team's potential.
12Sports journalists Cameron Cox and Lina Washington discuss what feels like a breath of fresh air and a rediscovered confidence in Suns basketball.
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CAMERON COX: It's a new day for this franchise. A big day. Mike Budenholzer, right away, wins the press conference. An Arizona boy coming home. You could hear the care and how humble he was. Everything and the passion in his voice to turn what is now his team around.
LINA WASHINGTON: You heard from the get-go when Al McCoy showed up on the mic to introduce coach Bud to the valley, he immediately started bowing down to the legend. That shows the level of respect that he has for this organization. He said he could run up Suns trivia in any other state, but here, he'll have some competition.
You could tell just by the three rows of friends and family that showed up to support him, and in this transition to see him live his dream now to coach the team that he grew up watching and listening to with his 94-year-old father, Vince -- his mentor, his coach in high school. He actually got emotional when I asked him what it was like to take a year away from basketball after being fired from the Bucks.
"I'm grateful for my past, but they've put me in position to be head coach of the Phoenix Suns," Budenholzer said. "My future? Wow. How exciting. Crazy. Freaking exciting.
"This year for me was really healthy. I kind of had a list of priorities. Diving into my kids, my family (was) super important. We've been through a lot. Really, the time with my kids was just amazing. My son is a senior in high school, so going to every one of his games was just...driving home, I'm like, 'wow, I've got a gift.' Diving into family and kids was just awesome.
"I'm in a great place. I feel really good. I did some amazing traveling and went to some places in the world that were just awesome, and then did some basketball. A little bit. I tried to keep it in its place, stay relevant with it, aware of it, but also know how important those other three things were to me. I don't ever want to do it again, well, the kids and the traveling and the family thing is all good, but I'd like to keep coaching as much and for as long as I can."
LINA WASHINGTON: One thing I have in common with Mike Budenholzer is that we both grew up in Arizona watching the Phoenix Suns, and now we get to work with them in some capacity. Budenholzer came in with reverence and humility but you could tell he was oozing with excitement accepting this head coaching position in front of his friends and family. He showed more emotion during his 40-minute introduction than former head coach Frank Vogel did during his tenure in Phoenix.
Budenholzer won the fanbase over from the moment he bowed down to legendary Suns broadcaster Al McCoy. This is the third time he has been introduced as an NBA head coach, but this opportunity seems to carry special meaning and purpose, and the grace will wear off with fans if he doesn't deliver.
Coaching is in his blood. After all, his dad is in the Arizona High School Coaches Hall of Fame. One thing that Vince instilled in him was to play fast and press. You already know coach Bud is ready to get in the gym with these guys. He's already talked to a lot of the roster, including the big three. He's ready to get to work.
CAMERON COX: He's talked to Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. You can check off that box. As far as "fixing it" is concerned, the big things were competitiveness and accountability. At times when we watched the Suns last year, those were big things missing throughout the entire season. Right away he's saying all the right things that this team needs to win a championship. We kept asking him, 'Hey, what would it mean to win a championship?' You can tell that he's thought about it.
LINA: He's keeping it humble, though!
CAM: Exactly. He's got to earn it, and he knows the road in front of him.
LINA: I felt the Suns made a mistake in letting Monty Williams go in 2023, but bringing Budenholzer into the fold at this time feels right. He comes from a winning coaching tree and organization in the San Antonio Spurs, he led the Atlanta Hawks to what is still a franchise-best 60 wins in 2014-15 in his first head-coaching gig, and he guided the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title during the 2020-21 season.
Go figure, it was his childhood Suns he beat in that NBA Finals. Wouldn’t that be something if the young man from a small town in Arizona could immortalize himself with the team he loved as a kid?
CAM: Also, let's clear this up. His last name is pronounced BOO-dihn-hol-zer.
LINA: But that's only if dad isn't present! He did kind of clam up a little bit because the folks in Holbrook, and the family present, they're BUHD-ihn-hol-zer.
You can call him coach Bud, but you can call him the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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