Bucks Zone

The brother of Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer unfortunately lost his life while the series with the Miami Heat was ongoing

A shocking piece of information came out regarding coach Bud's personal life drama.

Matthew Dugandzic

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Unknown to many, Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer was dealing with a more significant battle while the Bucks were fighting for dear life in their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.

Budenholzer confirmed to The Athletic on Friday that his brother died in a car accident prior to Game 4 of the Bucks-Heat best-of-seven series.

No hint

Sources told The Athletic that one of Budenholzer’s three brothers died from injuries sustained in a car accident.

The Bucks lost Game 4, 119-114, when Jimmy Butler erupted for a playoff franchise-record 56 points.

There were no signs that Budenholzer was dealing with personal issues, as he still showed up when Milwaukee tried to extend their season in Game 5.

The Bucks ended up losing Game 5 in a heartbreaking fashion as the Heat rallied to steal the win via a 128-126 overtime decision.

The demise of Budenholzer’s brother only became public when Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham talked about it before the Lakers played the Memphis Grizzlies for Game 6 of their best-of-seven series on Friday night.

“Coach Bud is going through a lot on a personal level,” said Ham, a former assistant under Budenholzer in both Milwaukee and Atlanta.

Bigger loss

Ham was asked to comment on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s answer to whether he views Milwaukee’s season as a failure following their shocking defeat to the Heat.

Ham then touched on the death of Budenholzer’s brother while responding to the question.

“He just lost his brother, so my apologies Bud if I wasn’t supposed to let anybody know. He and I’ve been texting. I love those guys,” said Ham

A spokesman told the Athletic that Budenholzer took no issue with Ham confirming to reporters the fatal accident involving his brother.

Budenholzer has said the Bucks were disappointed, frustrated, and hurt after they lost the series to the Heat. It turned out that the veteran coach was dealing with a bigger loss during those times.

Published
Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.