The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after a shocking exit in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. With an earlier offseason than expected, they are now scouring the market for a new head coach. As of right now, Nick Nurse is the odds on favorite to be coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks next season, via BetOnline.
It would be quite the upgrade for Nurse, leaving the underperforming Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Despite the early postseason exit, the Bucks once again will be NBA Finals contenders in 2024; as long as they hold onto Giannis, they will be amongst the NBA best.
In terms of Nurse, he is coming off of a relatively successful tenure in Toronto. The Raptors missed the postseason this year and were definitely a team that finished below expectations, although they had substantial success under Nurse. He was the Raptors head coach in 2019 when they won the NBA Finals with Kawhi Leonard.
Once Leonard left, there was a considerable drop in expectations. However, they still have Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, and many around the league believed they would be more competitive than they were this season. The year ended with a loss to the lower seeded Chicago Bulls in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament, symbolizing the underwhelming season.
Nick Nurse leads a large list of names, and it will be exciting to watch who ends up as the head honcho for the Bucks. There is no doubt it is the most highly coveted opening in the league due to the opportunity to coach Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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