Damian Lillard speaks out against Bucks’ firing of Mike Budenholzer

Dec 16, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Damian Lillard does not like what he is seeing elsewhere in the NBA right now.

The Milwaukee Bucks made the major announcement on Thursday that they have decided to part with head coach Mike Budenholzer after five seasons in charge. Budenholzer led Milwaukee to the NBA title in 2021 but suffered an embarrassing first-round loss to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat this year.

Not long after the news broke, Lillard spoke out against the firing in a thinly-veiled tweet.

“Folks out here firing championship coaches as soon as they don’t win the chip,” wrote Lillard.

Folks out here firing championship coaches as soon as they don’t win the chip …

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) May 4, 2023

Lillard may have also been commenting on the state of the NBA in general. Budenholzer (just fired by the Bucks), Nick Nurse (fired last month by the Toronto Raptors), and Frank Vogel (fired last season by the Los Angeles Lakers) are all now out of a job. Those three coaches were responsible for three of the last four NBA championships won.

Budenholzer led the Bucks to five straight division titles, produced a 60-win season, and won NBA Coach of the Year in 2019 (on top of that 2021 ring). That came after he led the Atlanta Hawks, his previous team, to a division title and a 60-win season (also winning Coach of the Year there in 2015).

Of course, Budenholzer made some serious gaffes during Milwaukee’s upset defeat to the Heat this season. But we recently found out that Budenholzer was dealing with a family tragedy in the middle of the series that may have affected his performance. Still, the Bucks have decided to make a change just over a week later (perhaps with this potential replacement in mind).