© Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
The top Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant coach Charles Lee is moving to the Boston Celtics
Charles Lee, who had been with the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff for the past four seasons, is heading to the Boston Celtics.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Lee will become the lead assistant of Boston coach Joe Mazzula.
One of the best
Lee is described to be a highly regarded bench tactician in the NBA. He has been a front-runner for head-coaching searches by various NBA teams.
Lee started his coaching career in the NBA as an assistant for Mike Budenholzer on the Atlanta Hawks. Budenholzer moved to Milwaukee in 2018, and Lee would eventually join him on the Bucks coaching staff.
Lee, a former Bucknell University standout, was promoted to associate coach in 2022 when Budenholzer’s top assistant coach Darvin Ham was recruited by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Winning and losing together
Overall, Budenholzer and Lee worked together for nine seasons. They were together when the Bucks won just their second NBA title in 2021. But a bitter ending would mark the end of the Budenholzer-Lee pairing.
Budenholzer was fired shortly after the Bucks suffered a shocking first-round exit in the playoffs the past season. Hopes were high for the Bucks after they ended the regular season with an NBA-best 58-24 record and advanced to the playoffs as the number-one overall seed
What looked like a promising season ended in disaster after the Bucks lost to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
It was such a shocker of an exit as the No. 8 Heat needed just five games to eliminate the top-seeded Bucks.
At Boston, Lee will join former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Sam Cassell on the Celtics' coaching staff. Interestingly, it was Boston who eliminated the Sixers in the East semifinals.
Boston would end up losing in the East Finals against Milwaukee’s tormentor as the Celtics suffered a heart-breaking Game 7 loss to the Heat right on their home floor.
