Nurkic drops a bombshell! Budenholzer is an alcoholic and absurd—he actually tried to teach Durant how to score

On June 2, Beijing time, Nurkic, who played for the Jazz in the 2025-26 season, openly shared his miserable stint under former Suns head coach Budenholzer during a podcast appearance. Nurkic launched a scathing attack on Budenholzer's leadership methods, exposing numerous startling inside stories.

According to Nurkic, the dysfunction inside the Suns had already exceeded the realm of basketball.

"He actually taught Kevin Durant how to score, step by step. If it were coaching me, Aaron Gordon, Royce O'Neale, or Grayson Allen, that would be one thing—but teaching Durant how to play? That's like teaching a pilot how to fly a plane. I'm not the only one who felt this way; the entire team thought this coaching system was ridiculous, and the atmosphere was a total mess."

"I don't know if I should say this, but this coach is a heavy drinker with a serious alcohol problem. He often scheduled one-on-one private talks just to purposely pick fights and provoke players. He would lecture Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen, saying things like, 'You don't know how to play at all, you have to change this way, become that way.'"

"Sitting across from him listening, everyone was in disbelief. He once pointed at me and said, 'You are a terrible teammate.' I replied, 'We can discuss my on-court performance, my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement—no problem. But you cannot simply judge my character and claim I'm not worthy of being a teammate.' He is petty, always stirring up trouble on purpose, deliberately creating conflicts within the team."

This statement is one of the most scathing public criticisms of an NBA head coach by a player in recent years.

As early as the 2024-25 season, the conflict between Nurkic and Budenholzer had already surfaced. After taking over with championship aspirations, Budenholzer quickly made rotation changes, moving Nurkic out of the starting lineup and replacing him with Mason Plumlee, marking Nurkic's first extended stint as a bench player since 2017.

Their relationship rapidly deteriorated from there, with Nurkic publicly admitting that he and the coach were like strangers. Later reports revealed that Budenholzer repeatedly criticized Nurkic in private conversations, faulting his playing attitude and calling him an unqualified teammate. Eventually, the Suns made a major shakeup at the trade deadline, sending Nurkic away.

With the Big Three of Durant, Booker, and Beal, the Suns collapsed that season, finishing with a 36-46 record and missing the playoffs. The dismal performance led to champion coach Budenholzer being fired after just one year.

Months later, Nurkic's revelations shed light on the internal issues behind the Suns' most disastrous season in franchise history. Whether Budenholzer will respond to these allegations remains unknown, but these comments are sure to stir up heated debate across the league, becoming one of the most turbulent coaching narratives in recent NBA history.