The beginning of the Phoenix Suns' five-game road trip means an Atlanta return for head coach, Mike Budenholzer. The first-year head coach started his head coaching career with the Atlanta Hawks. He led the franchise to a 60-win season in 2015, before being fired. Then, he traveled to be the Milwaukee Bucks head coach.

From there, his success unraveled. He helped Milwaukee win the 2021 NBA Finals against his current team, the Suns. Not to mention, Budenholzer had four of his five seasons with 50-plus wins, with a 60-22 record in his first season. Still, he was fired after the end of the 2022-23 season. After a year off, he went back home to Arizona.

As a native of Holbrook, he explained that he was a Suns fan growing up. During the summer, Budenholzer and the Suns inked a contract to be the next head coach. Despite a rough stretch, Phoenix is back to a 19-19 record. As he sat in the press conference room, he explained to AZCentral's Duane Rankin about how much the city means to him.

“It was a great five years here,” Budenholzer said. “A lot of great people. A lot of great players. The organization was great to me. Walking Piedmont Park. This was a special place and special time in my life.”

Budenholzer was one of the early disciples of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree. He was an assistant coach under Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs. When he took the job with Atlanta, he was only 44 years old. Also, his coaching philosophy was ahead of his time. He implemented a barrage of 3-point shots, fastbreak opportunities, and attacking the basket.

Mike Budenholzer's Atlanta homecoming adds more fuel for the Suns

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and coach Mike Budenholzer between plays in the second half during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center
© Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Although the return must feel nice for the Suns head coach, they know they need to take care of business. They're on a three-game winning streak, their longest since going 8-2 to start the year. Since then, there's been a barrage of injuries, rumors, and everything in between.

At the start of the new year, the team made a shocking move. Before playing the Philadelphia 76ers, Budenholzer revealed his reasoning behind the Suns benching Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic. Since then, the team has gone 3-1. Beal's role hasn't decreased at all, if anything, it's actually grown more than it has in the entire season.

Despite the small sample size, it's important to note that there's been an increased camaraderie on the court. There's a clear indication of who will handle the ball, who will facilitate, and who will score. Furthermore, Beal has scored 25-plus points on over 50 percent shooting from the field in two of those games.

Going back to Budenholzer, this has been one of his most challenging seasons. Even with an offensively gifted Big 3, there was a synergy issue. The first-year Suns coach pulled a major adjustment to try and rally some wins. So far, his move has worked. It hasn't been the most popular among some, though.

A player with a $50 million contract coming off of the bench isn't ideal. However, winning cures many things, and Budenholzer knows that like the back of his hand. He's had only two losing seasons as head coach, with his first and last season with the Hawks, respectively.

Suns will hope to begin the road trip with a win

With the longest road trip this season to commence, the team is riding the momentum from their brief home stand. They won all three games, including Sunday, which was coming off of a back-to-back. Luckily, there won't be any of those on this road trip. They'll be able to spend a night in cities like Cleveland and Detroit.

Still, Budenholzer's homecoming will be something fun to monitor. No matter what, he and the rest of the team are concerned about winning.