Brother of Bucks HC Mike Budenholzer died before Game 4

Rightly or wrongly, head coaches often come under the microscope after disappointing ends to seasons. That has been the case with Mike Budenholzer after the top-seeded Bucks lost their first-round series to the Heat in five games.

Unfortunately, Budenholzer and his family were going through a terrible personal tragedy during the series — one of his three brothers died just before Game 4, the coach confirmed via a spokesperson to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Team sources tell Vardon that Budenholzer’s brother died due to injuries from a car crash.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, a longtime former assistant under Budenholzer, was the first to publicly disclose the death at his news conference ahead of Game 6 on Friday night. 

“Coach Bud is going through a lot on a personal level,” Ham said. “He just lost his brother, so, my apologies Bud if I wasn’t supposed to let anybody know. He and I’ve been texting. I love those guys.”

Through the team spokesperson, Budenholzer informed Vardon that he “loves and respects” Ham and was comfortable confirming the news.

We send our condolences to the Budenholzer family and their friends.