Mike Budenholzer Wins February Eastern Conference Coach of the Month

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but after not losing during the entire month of February—the fourth undefeated month in franchise history but only second of double-digit games—and winning sixteen straight, Bud is the East’s Coach of the Month.

A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, this marks the seventh time in Bud’s career that he’s taken home the monthly honor. It’s his fifth time since taking over in Milwaukee, but his first in three years, since February of 2020 (ah, what a time that was to be alive). Bud is en route to his fifth 50-win season with an eye on his second championship and should receive votes for the newly-renamed Coach of the Year after not garnering any support the past two campaigns since finishing runner-up in the 2019–20 season.

With a 258-113 record helming the Bucks, Bud is the third-winningest sideline boss in franchise history behind Hall-of-Famers Don Nelson and Larry Costello. He does, however, have the highest winning percentage of any Milwaukee coach in either the regular season (by a lot) or playoffs (38-22).

Bud is tied for 39th all-time in wins with Hall of Fame coach Alex Hannum and just ahead of Tom Heinsohn (who was inducted as a coach and player). Those 471 wins are fifth among active coaches, just ahead of Tom Thibodeau and Steve Kerr. His .603 winning percentage is fourth among active coaches, 25th all-time, and tied for seventh all-time (with Jerry Sloan, another Hall-of-Famer) among coaches with ten-plus years of experience. All this is to say that even with just one ring, he seems pretty likely to end up in Springfield.

Congrats Coach! Keep up the Ws!