It wasn’t what Mike Budenholzer said. It was what he did.
He listened.
Sure, the to-do list was long when the first-year head coach assumed control of the Hawks. There were systems to implement, player evaluation and development work to be done and new time constraints that vastly differed from those of a long-time assistant. There was so much organization and detail involved in establishing a system-based style for the franchise.
At the top of that list was getting buy-in from players. They had to trust the new style if the Hawks were to have any level of success. Budenholzer had a certain amount of credibility coming from a Spurs organization that collects NBA titles with regularity. However, this was his show.
“I always say you learn so much from the players,” Budenholzer said this week after the completed season. “It’s amazing, as an assistant coach and now as a head coach, you watch and observe them. Obviously, we have to be leaders and we have to give them direction, but if you are observant, you learn a lot from them and, hopefully, you can incorporate that into your system and into your direction and your vision.”
Players took notice. Each player asked about Budenholzer during exit interviews with the media had high praise for the work Budenholzer and his staff did. The Hawks battled injury and finished the regular season 38-44, good enough for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They pushed the top-seeded Pacers to a Game 7 after missing a prime opportunity to win the series in six games.
Add that to the steep learning curve — for coach and players.
“He did a great job of letting us have a voice and letting us if we wanted to guard the pick-and-roll a different way or if we saw something on the court,” Kyle Korver said. “He encouraged that. We could talk it through. But we all respected him enough when he made the decision of this is what we are going to do, that was the way we were going to do it.
“I think sometimes it’s difficult for a head coach to get that kind of credit in the locker room. He had everyone’s respect.”
One of the things players said they appreciated most was Budenholzer’s communication skills. There were tough decisions to be made over the course of the season. Players moved in and out of the lineup or the rotation. Early in the season Paul Millsap was removed from the starting lineup for one game. Lou Williams sat seven games as the team took a look at younger players. Elton Brand did not play in eight of the first 15 games.
Budenholzer talked with each player to explain his decision and to remind them that the greater good of the team was always central.
“That goes a long way with players,” Korver said. “Those are not always fun conversations for coaches to have. But he did them, and it went a long way.”
Injuries were a big factor in Budenholzer’s first campaign. Al Horford was lost after only 29 games. When the team finally adjusted to the loss of its starting center, a revolving door was seemingly installed on the infirmary. One player after another, including every other starter, was hit with a malady that resulted in lost time. The team slogan could have easily been ‘The Atlanta Hawks: Come see who isn’t injured.’
Players credited Budholzer with keeping the team positive and motivated during the difficult stretch.
The Hawks’ average margin of defeat in their 44 regular-season losses was 9.7 points. Only 17 of the losses were by 10 or more points — 11 of which came in the injury-riddled stretch when the Hawks won only six of 26 games.
“His confidence was there,” Millsap said. “He stuck to what he believed. There is nothing more you can ask of a coach, especially a rookie coach, to do but to respect himself and respect what he is capable of doing. We stood behind him. He rallied us. He’s been a great leader for us. The sky is the limit for him.”
General manager Danny Ferry said this week he believes it wasn’t just those in the Hawks organization that took notice of the job Budenholzer did. Players from other teams, and their agents, got a glimpse of the future of basketball in Atlanta.
“I think he gained some respect throughout the league,” Ferry said.
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