ATLANTA -- New Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer is "living a dream" as he makes plans to remain with the San Antonio Spurs through the NBA Finals before turning his full focus to his first NBA head-coaching job.

Budenholzer, the longtime San Antonio assistant, was named the Hawks' coach on Tuesday, one day after the Spurs completed a four-game sweep of Memphis in the Western Conference finals.

Mike Budenholzer said he'll bring lessons learned under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, including a strong defensive philosophy, to the Hawks. AP Photo/David Tulis

"It's been a pretty amazing 48 hours, I'll be very honest with you," Budenholzer said on Wednesday as he was introduced by Hawks general manager Danny Ferry. "It's exciting for my family, exciting for me.

"The opportunity to come here with the Atlanta Hawks, when you couple that with coming to the NBA Finals, I'm living a dream."

Budenholzer, 43, spent 19 years with the Spurs, including 17 seasons as an assistant. He was the top assistant for coach Gregg Popovich the past six years, but he may be a new name to many fans outside of San Antonio.

"I'm definitely not a sexy hire," Budenholzer said. "Thankfully, that wasn't on Danny's shopping list."

He said he'll bring lessons learned under Popovich, including a strong defensive philosophy.

"Mike Budenholzer has been extremely important to our success in San Antonio," Spurs star point guard Tony Parker said Tuesday. "He is a great coach. I think the Hawks made an excellent choice and I'm very happy for Coach Bud."

Ferry came to the Hawks last year after two years as vice president of basketball operations for the Spurs. After his close view of Budenholzer's role with the Spurs, Ferry now is looking for the coach to bring at least part of San Antonio's winning system to Atlanta.