New Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer admits he used to have sleepless nights preparing to face Giannis Antetokounmpo during his time with the Atlanta Hawks.

But now, coach Bud will have the luxury of going to battle every night with the superstar on his team after he was formally introduced by the team in a news conference earlier this week.

Budenholzer held interviews with the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns as well as having discussions with the Toronto Raptors before opting to join the Bucks.

Having an opportunity to work with one of the best players in the league, instead of against him, was ultimately too good to refuse.

"It was miserable coaching against him and I'm so happy to be (saying), '34's on my team?'" Budenholzer said, per WLNS.com. "That's like really cool.

"He's a nightmare to coach against, to game-plan, to figure out how you can keep him away from the basket."

Giannis had another terrific season where he received his second All-Star nod and led Milwaukee to the playoffs.

He showed further improvement this year as he averaged 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.

Working with a talented coach like Budenholzer should allow the 23-year-old to continue growing and expand his game.

Bud was named as the Coach of the Year in 2015 when he led the Hawks to the number one seed in the east with a franchise-record 60 wins and a place in the conference finals.

Player development is one of his key attributes having worked as an assistant coach to Gregg Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs for a number of years.

Defensive mentality

The 48-year-old has built a reputation as a defensive-minded coach and is hoping to bring his expertise to the Bucks to help them plug an obvious weakness.

His experience in building strong defensive teams in Atlanta will come in handy for his new team and he believes he has the tools to work with to make it happen.

"I think with the individual talents we have in Milwaukee ... I think one of the words I used in the interview process was, 'How can we unlock this talent defensively?'" Budenholzer said. "I just think there's so much to work with."

With Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon, the Wisconsin-based franchise has the basis of a solid defensive unit.

They just need the right coach to put them in a position to be successful on that end of the floor and the Bucks believe Budenholzer will be that man.

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