Nurkic alleges Suns coach Budenholzer struggled alcohol

Former NBA center Jusuf Nurkic has publicly alleged that his former head coach, Mike Budenholzer, struggled with alcohol addiction during their time together with the Phoenix Suns. The claims were made during a recent appearance on the podcast XOs Chat with Edin Avdic and have sparked significant reaction across the basketball community.

Nurkic, who now plays for the Utah Jazz, described a dysfunctional environment during the Suns' 2024-25 season. He stated that Budenholzer was an alcohol addict and was really having a problem with it, adding that he did not know if he should say it. The veteran center also criticized Budenholzer's coaching approach, alleging the coach attempted to explain to star forward Kevin Durant how to score a basket, which Nurkic likened to explaining to a pilot how to fly a plane.

The relationship between player and coach appeared strained throughout the season. Nurkic described a negative atmosphere from the first day of training camp, claiming Budenholzer was extremely negative toward everyone and would schedule one-on-one meetings with players simply to provoke them. He said the coach no longer cared about how anyone felt.