Suns Could Have Coach of the Year

Mike Budenholzer could emerge as the NBA's Coach of the Year with the Phoenix Suns.

May 17, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Mike Budenholzer speaks during a press conference to announce his job as head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer arrives to the Valley with expectations to help bolster the team's star-studded roster and its chances of making a deep postseason push in the 2024-25 season.

Budenholzer - a two-time Coach of the Year and NBA Champion - takes over for previous head man Frank Vogel, who was fired after just his first year on the job.

The Suns are now on their third head coach in as many seasons, though they believe Budenholzer has the right qualities to emerge as the man in the Valley and maximize their championship window.

Oddsshark.com believes Budenholzer's a good bet to win NBA Coach of the Year once again with his new team.

"Only Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich, and Pat Riley have won Coach of the Year on three occasions, so another trophy on Budenholzer's mantle would put him in that prestigious group," wrote Chris Walder.

"Mark Daigneault just won with the Thunder after guiding the team to an improvement of +.207 in the standings, but in order for Phoenix to achieve similar growth, it would need to win over 65 games and that's simply not happening. Voters tend to gravitate towards sharp and noticeable jumps in the win-loss column, although when former Suns coach Monty Williams won in 2022, it was only by .072. 

"Expectations are smack dab in the middle for Phoenix, because while we all can see them being a viable threat for Larry O'Brien, it's not out of the realm of possibility to see this experiment bottom out quickly. However, Budenholzer is too good a coach and this core is far too strong when healthy to see that come to fruition, so if the Suns can keep themselves in the thick of it and maybe improve by five-plus wins, then Coach of the Year is absolutely on the table here."

Budenholzer's first opportunity to place his fingerprints on the Suns will come later this month as training camp begins, with preseason festivities closely following at the beginning of October.