Mike Budenholzer: Top 5 Coach in the NBA?

The Atlanta Hawks organization certainly lucked out when former GM Danny Ferry was able to pry longtime top assistant Mike Budenholzer from the San Antonio Spurs back in Summer 2013. In his first two years leading the Atlanta Hawks, Coach Bud took a sub-.500 into the playoffs and nearly knocked off top-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round in 2014.

Last season he took the Atlanta Hawks to new heights, a franchise-best 60 wins and the team’s first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. With the adulation coming from the Atlanta faithful and deep-rooted respect coming from his colleagues in the Association, has Atlanta Hawks HC Mike Budenholzer elevated himself to a perennial Top 5 Coach in the NBA?

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Bud is not better than his NBA mentor, Spurs HC Gregg Popovich who arguably belongs on the Mount Rushmore on NBA coaches with Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, and Pat Riley. And that’s totally fine, Pop is a transcendent coach in the NBA, leading a franchise to five NBA Championships and 17 straight 50-win seasons.

But outside of Greg Popovich, only four other active NBA coaches have Championship rings: Dallas Mavericks HC Rick Carlisle, Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra, Los Angeles Clippers HC Doc Rivers, and Golden State Warriors HC Steve Kerr. Though these coaches are certainly some of the best in the business, Popovich is clear and convincingly number one in the NBA by a wide margin.

Other coaches that like Mike Budenholzer have not won a NBA Championship as a head coach that are immensely talented include Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy, Milwaukee’s Jason Kidd, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, Boston’s Brad Stevens, and Memphis’ Dave Joerger. Each coach brings a unique style to his team as it is crucial to establish a keen identity for a club to make deep postseason runs.

And Coach Bud knows what he wants his team to do: emphasize heavy ball movement on offense, win games in transition by controlling the tempo, and playing sound team defense to force opponent’s to take questionable shots. Not every player can buy into Mike Budenholzer’s highly cerebral and team oriented concepts, but most do appreciate he and his staff’s strength in player development.

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Am I crazy to seriously think that Atlanta has the second best coach in the NBA? I wouldn’t say so. Bud to me falls behind only Gregg Popovich as Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens round out the Top 5. Though Kerr won an NBA Championship in his first season as Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors, I believe many thought that the Splash Brothers and Company would have likely contended for a title regardless of who the front office hired. I’m a big fan of Steve Kerr, but I might need to see one more year out of him on the sidelines before I put him ahead of Mike Budenholzer.

Rivers has won a championship with the Boston Celtics Big Three back in 2008. Since then Doc has been in the inner circle of elite NBA coaches. He has taken the Los Angeles Clippers to new heights since leaving Boston two years ago. But I get the sense that GM Doc forces HC Doc to play with one hand tied behind his back. While he gets the best of his stars, he hasn’t been able to find ways to improve a lackluster Clippers bench since relocating to LA.

Stevens is another one of my favorites. As a college coach, he took Butler to back-to-back National Title appearances before the small school in Indianapolis joined the always relevant Big East Conference. In Year Two with the Celtics, Stevens led a team chock full of role players to a seven-seed in the East playing great team first basketball. Brad’s future is incredibly bright in this league, but he needs to get more production out of his top players for Boston to really contend for championships these next few years.

Atlanta is very fortunate to have a head coach of the caliber of Mike Budenholzer. So long as the Hawks have their Top 5 coach, Atlanta will contend in the Eastern Conference and aspire to win NBA Championships.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Finals Bound in 2016?

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