The Phoenix Suns announced on Monday that they are firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after just one season. Despite having the highest payroll in NBA history, the Suns finished the season with a 36-46 record and missed the playoffs and the play-in tournament entirely.
“Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed,” the team said in a statement.
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While the Suns begin the search for their fourth coach in four seasons, fans gave mixed reactions to the firing.
New coach & new GM in Phoenix is gonna be refreshing. Find a way to get Bradley Beal off the books and things might start to look up for the Suns ????????
— Brandon Awadis (@brawadis) April 14, 2025
Scapegoat for players that are not performing! This merry go round of coaches is never going to have us winning a championship. I don’t care who the coach is …no reason the team should lose games by 30 or 40 points. That’s a player issue not a coaching issue!!
— Ignatius L. Jackson, CPA (@ignatiuscpa) April 14, 2025
Firing 3 coaches in 3 seasons is obviously a bad look for the Suns, and their problems run deeper than that.
But anyone positioning Mike Budenholzer as the scapegoat in this situation wasn't paying attention to what happened in Phoenix this season. Firing him was the right move
— cogsoldier (@cogsoldier_) April 14, 2025
He deserved better. https://t.co/3kxKARdXwx
— J3 (@thejohnmarx) April 14, 2025
Phoenix Suns are are firing coaches left and right
Williams-Vogel-Bud
Maybe the coach is not the problem
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) April 14, 2025
He’s not that good of a coach, but their roster was TERRIBLY built ????
— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) April 14, 2025
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
