Ranking the 3 best options for Raptors coaching vacancy

1. Mike Budenholzer

Mike Budenholzer was justifiably placed on the hot seat following Milwaukee’s shocking first round loss to the Heat. But, it’s important to remember the context of the Bucks’ failure. Giannis Antetokounmpo was hurt and Miami has done nothing in the ensuing weeks to suggest that series win was a fluke. Maybe the Heat are just that good.

Very few NBA coaches have been more consistently successful over the last decade than Budenholzer. He is arguably the most acclaimed disciple of Gregg Popovich, winning Coach of the Year twice (2015, 2019) and leading the Bucks to an NBA championship in 2021.

Bud famously engineered a 60-win team around Al Horford and Paul Millsap. He is a bastion of regular season dominance, a defensive genius who consistently builds efficient offenses with imbalanced rosters. The Hawks didn’t have a traditional go-to scorer to operate around, so Bud went Spursian. With Milwaukee, he built a scoring buzzsaw around Giannis without consistent perimeter shot creators. The Bucks overcame multiple key injuries to win 58 games and claim the No. 1 seed this season. There are valid concerns about Budenholzer’s limited capacity for adjustments in the playoffs, but he reached the mountaintop just two years ago. It’s hard to argue with the results.

The Raptors have the talent to compete. If anyone can build a cohesive offense and dominant defense around playmaking bigs like Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, Budenholzer is a strong bet. He would also be more receptive to utilizing his team’s full depth chart than Nurse, who became notorious last season for running his starters into the ground. Budenholzer is an established winner and a low-risk option to lead Toronto forward.

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