Suns fire Mike Budenholzer after one season

The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after just one season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Budenholzer, 55, was hired by the Suns in 2024 on a five-year deal worth roughly $50 million, making him one of the highest-paid head coaches in the NBA. After taking the 2023-24 season to himself upon being let go by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, Budenholzer decided to jump at the opportunity to coach Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal.

In one season with the Suns, the veteran head coach went 36-46, failing to make the playoffs and finishing 11th in the Western Conference.

Just one season after winning 49 games, claiming the 6-seed in the West, and finishing with a top-15 defense, the Suns plummeted to the third-worst defense in the NBA and failed to meet owner Mat Ishbia’s lofty championship expectations.

Ishbia, who took control of the Suns in 2023, will now be on the search for his fourth head coach after firing Monty Williams in 2023 and Frank Vogel in 2024 after one season with the franchise.

This is a developing story that will be updated shortly.