Mike Budenholzer won the 2018-19 Coach of the Year award with the Milwaukee Bucks and recently led the organization to a title in 2021, their first championship in 50 years. After having the best record in the NBA during the regular season and losing in the first-round of the playoffs, the Bucks decided to move on from Budenholzer, beginning a critical and crucial coaching search for one of the league top teams right now.

The Bucks have interviewed several potential head coaching candidates over the last few weeks and they have narrowed their search down to three prominent names in former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin and Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nurse is obviously the most notable name on this list, as he won a championship with the Raptors in 2019. However, he was recently let go by the Raptors after they failed to make it out of the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference. Since their championship run in 2019, Toronto went 169-139 (54.9 percent) with Nurse as their head coach. The 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year has also been mentioned as a coaching candidate for the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.

Atkinson has been with the Warriors since 2021 after serving as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2020-21 season. He was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons prior, leading the team to two playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020.

Griffin has not been a head coach in the NBA before and is the father of Atlanta Hawks 2022 first-round pick AJ Griffin. Following his professional career, Griffin has served as an assistant for the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and most recently the Raptors for the last five seasons.

Milwaukee has taken their time during this coaching search, as replacing Budenholzer is no small task. Owning the most wins in the league since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Bucks have high championship aspirations and will be looking to capitalize on Giannis Antetokounmpo's success.

A two-time MVP and recently being named to the All-NBA First Team for the fifth time in his career, seventh All-NBA selection overall, Antetokounmpo is playing some of the best basketball out of any player in the world. As long as he is healthy, the Bucks' chances of winning a title are high, which is why bringing in a head coach who can handle the championship pressure is a must. Like many star players in the league, Antetokounmpo will have a say in who the next head coach of the team will be, league sources told ClutchPoints recently. NBA insider Marc Stein also reported recently that the team's search to replace Budenholzer is expected to include “dialogue” with Giannis.

Former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams was thought to be a lead candidate for this opening in Milwaukee for quite some time, but he was not mentioned as one of the final candidates by Wojnarowski. Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks, Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn, University of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson and Milwaukee’s own Charles Lee, all of which interviewed for this head coaching opening, were not named in this report either.

Finishing with a 58-24 record and recording four 50-win seasons over the last five years, the Bucks face some major decisions heading into the offseason besides who their next coach will be. Veteran center Brook Lopez is set to enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent coming off of one of the best seasons of his career at 35-years-old and three-time All-Star Khris Middleton has a player option for the 2023-24 season that many around the league are anticipating him opting out of. Middleton could look to secure a five-year, $272 million deal from the Bucks this offseason should he elect to become an unrestricted free agent as well.