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A native of Holbrook, Arizona, Budenholzer attended Pomona College, where he was a four-year letterman in basketball and golf and was named the Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1993. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
Before joining Atlanta, Budenholzer spent 18 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, serving as a video coordinator for the first two seasons and then as an assistant coach under head coach Gregg Popovich. After college, he spent the 1993-1994 season in Denmark, playing professionally for Vejle Basketball Klub, where he averaged a team-high 27.5 points per game while also serving as head coach for two teams of the club"s youth system. At the start of the 1994-1995 season, Budenholzer was hired by the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (National Basketball Association) as a video coordinator.
He held that position for two years before being named an assistant coach under head coach Gregg Popovich at the beginning of the 1996-1997 season.
Budenholzer left San Antonio at the end of the 2013 National Basketball Association Playoffs to begin his new career as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks would qualify for the Eastern Conference playoffs as the 8th seed in his first season as head coach but would lose to the one-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round.
Budenholzer was named the December 2014 Eastern Conference Coach of the Month after leading the Hawks to a 14-2 record in the month. He was named the head coach of the Eastern Conference team at the 2015 National Basketball Association All-Star Game by virtue of Atlanta being in first place in the conference by the break.
He went on to lead the Hawks to a franchise record 60 wins, as well as their deepest playoff run in 48 years.
On June 30, 2015, Budenholzer was promoted to President of Basketball Operations in addition to his duties as head coach. While Wes Wilcox was promoted to general manager, Budenholzer has the final say in all basketball matters. On August 1, 2015, Budenholzer served as Team Africa"s assistant coach at the 2015 National Basketball Association Africa exhibition game.
On September 19, 2015, Budenholzer was inducted into the Pomona Pitzer hall of fame.
Budenholzer was part of a staff that won four National Basketball Association championships while with the Spurs. Budenholzer won the January 2015 Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award after leading the Hawks to the first 17-0 record in a month in National Basketball Association history. On April 21, he was named the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2014-2015 National Basketball Association Coach of the Year.
