Bucks’ Budenholzer named top coach by peers

Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has been elected the National Basketball Coaches Association’s 2019 Coach of the Year, the league announced.

The Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award, named in honor of Goldberg, the group’s late president, polls the 30 NBA head coaches and mandates that no individual can vote for himself.

Budenholzer led the Bucks to 60 victories and the league’s best record in his first season with Milwaukee.

Among his competitors also receiving votes were Brooklyn’s Kenny Atkinson, Denver’s Michael Malone, Indiana’s Nate McMillan, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, the Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Utah’s Quin Snyder and Portland’s Terry Stotts.

“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by your peers, and that makes this award truly special,” Budenholzer said in a statement. “Thank you to my colleagues across the NBA, and most importantly thank you to our players and staff in Milwaukee. The players’ and staffs’ work this year has given our team and our fans a very special season.”

Budenholzer won the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is selected by the media, as the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2015. He helped the Atlanta Hawks win 60 games that season.

In the two previous years of voting, Dwane Casey won in 2018 and Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra were co-winners in 2017’s inaugural vote.