Quotes from Mike Budenholzer

At the end of the day, winning is always rewarded.

I think that coming to work every day and what we try and do and accomplish, there's a seriousness to it.

I literally remember going in my backyard and my dad teaching me Paul Westphal moves.

As an assistant you have lots of ideas and suggestions that might be perfect for that moment and time, but you don't think through all of the ramifications down the road. As a head coach it's about being conscious of the whole group and what's best for us long term. And that's on and off the court.

As coaches, whether we're making personnel decisions or not, we're all critical of ourselves. We always want to get better. We push our players to do that. But nobody bats 1.000.

What LeBron James has done in our league is phenomenal.

My dad was a huge influence on me. He taught me how to play and a lot about the game. He was very passionate and intense. As I started coaching, he wanted to tell me about all of the presses and man-to-man coverages and big philosophical things.

If you have the right kind of guys who are pushing each other and at the same time supporting each other, it's pretty cool.

For every team in the playoffs, their defensive intensity, their defensive attention to detail just becomes greater.

Lots of coaches like to draw up a play in a timeout and most, if not all of them, are drawn up against man-to-man type coverages and defenses.

The thing Pop did for me and did for a lot of coaches is - he let me coach. It seems really simple, and that's the beauty of being with Pop and being around Pop.

I think days like Wiffle ball and other things that we do throughout the year to hopefully get guys to maybe take a breath and enjoy each other and enjoy this process and enjoy the season. I would argue that it helps you heighten your focus when it's needed. You never know; us coaches will try anything.

I love coaching.

I'm very appreciative of Atlanta. I love living here. I love coaching here.

If we're competing and we're doing the daily fundamental things that we talk about every day, then everything will sort itself out.

Probably the No. 1 characteristic, if you want win championships, you've got to be great competitors. It's got to come naturally.

The way things were done in San Antonio gave me a great 19-year look into how you can have sustained success.

Getting swept is hard.

Sometimes coaching is being hard on them, but there's a balance. I'm fine with the word nurturing. It's teaching in a positive way. You have to find what works for each group.

You have to have guys that will compete every night, every possession.

You have to stay disciplined from the start of the game to the end of the game, from the start of the possession to the end of the possession.

The health and well-being of our players are a critical component of our ability to succeed.

On a lot of teams that bottom guy, that weakside defender, is critical if something happens and you're broken down off the dribble or you're beat. That person has got to be there.

I would love to be the best defensive team in the league.