Milwaukee Bucks starting point guard Eric Bledsoe credits head coach Mike Budenholzer for instilling confidence in the players on the team this season.

The Bucks had the best record during the regular season. Other than signing center Brook Lopez in free agency last summer, the Bucks brought back the same roster from 2017-18 to begin the year.

Milwaukee did trade for combo guard George Hill and stretch forward Nikola Mirotic during the season, but the hiring of Budenholzer was the biggest change and he's made a colossal difference for the Bucks, who are two games away from reaching the NBA Finals.

“The biggest thing was Bud coming in, giving everybody confidence,” said Bledsoe, via Michael Lee of The Athletic. “I been knew before then. We’ve got a great group of guys who want to see people, other people do good, and not just themselves. And that’s very rare in this league. With a bunch of great, talented players everybody wants to see somebody else succeed, so that’s the biggest thing with us.”

Budenholzer was named a finalist on Friday for the 2019 Coach of the Year award.

Because the Bucks are the No. 1 seed in the entire playoffs, everyone expects Budenholzer to win the award.