February 22, 2023 9:39 pm ET. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images). Im going to coach. And I remember being so surprised. Udoka is interesting because it might suit him to just take any NBA job thats offered to put his situation behind him. He opted for a surgery with a shorter recovery time but greater risk, in which a piece of his hamstring was used to repair the knee ligament. The nine year assistant turned the Celtics around once the New Year hit, and the Boston finished the season second in the East. Agnes was rushed to the hospital on Thanksgiving morning, and she died two weeks later. Related: Celtics to hire Nets assistant Ime Udoka as head coach It was no shock Stevens and the 43-year-old Udoka bonded during the interview process. Two of them, Moser and Garrett Jackson, now work in player development for the Celtics. Udoka is engaged to actress Nia Long, who played Former Nigeria basketball international Ime Udoka has been named as the new coach of the Boston Celtics in the NBA. WebIme Udoka Position: - Born: 08/09/77 Height: 6-6 / 1.98 Weight:218 lbs. The 45-year-old could be one of the most sought-after names on the coaching market when the season ends, so Atlanta has the chance to lock him down before any other teams make coaching changes. Have they proved reliable in the past? players have remained loyal to him, and vice versa. Long, who has won multiple awards including three Outstanding Actress NAACP Image Awards, played roles in films such as Boyz N The Hood, Love Jones, Soul Food and Big Mommas House. She and Udoka went public with their relationship in 2010 and became engaged in 2015. The Atlanta Hawk are considering Ime Udoka for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack. Activate your account. "Feels like it was always meant to be this way. Ime Udoka, who landed his first head coaching job with the Boston Celtics last year, has been suspended for the 2022-23 season. He waited a little longer than he wanted, but the opportunity he got ended up being the best one.. "Head Coach Ime Udoka on making The Finals in his first year. And he was like, I know Im being a good mentor to some of the younger guys, but am I really cut out to be a coach? Memory said. I guess this is a rare situation where the team is still fighting for a playoff spot where if they were in the pistons position they would just hand the Interim to an assistant. Imes had it tough in many ways, Popovich said. The Nigerian American, whose father, Vitalis Udoka, emigrated from Africas most populous nation before Ime Udoka was born, is the first person of African origin to serve as a head coach in the NBA. He held various jobs as a laborer and often faced discrimination and racism. WebFormer Celtics head coach Ime Udoka reportedly is in the running for the Hawks' vacant head coach job, which could set up the possibility of Udoka facing his old team in the As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Mazzulla has officially done all that he Stevens was promoted When he was a small child and Agnes woke up early to work at a bakery, he would follow her outside sobbing because he did not want her to leave. Among the candidates being considered for the Hawks' coaching vacancy, league sources say, is former Celtics coach Ime Udoka. Interim head coach Joe Prunty will lead the team when it resumes its season on Friday. Third on this list at +300 is none other than former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. He had no health insurance, but this second procedure was paid for by Willie Stoudamire, who ran the midnight basketball session where Udoka had spent so much of his childhood, and who was the father of former NBA standout and current Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire. Earlier this week, when Stevens spoke to the media for the first time since trading Walker, he said he stayed in close contact with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown regarding the Celtics coaching search. Feb 22, 2023 10:49 PM. After a few months with UCAM Murcia, a club in Spain, he joined some friends in Las Vegas to watch the N.B.A.s summer league. N.B.A. , In the middle of the whole thing I heard Ime, literally in mid-swing of another opponent say, Watch back, Gabe and he calmly, I mean calmly, smeared a guy who, as I turned to see his warning, jumped from the stands with a chair to probably kill me or knock me out to where the crowd would have. Do the sources know the information? For three hours, the two talked about the things Aldridge might not have been comfortable asking the Spurs top brass. Udoka traveled with the team to Utah for a game against the Jazz, and when he was alone in his hotel room, he finally broke down. How you could coach one guy and what you could say and how you could say it was totally different, Udoka said. I thought he just wanted to go back to Texas, but he was like, Nah, I got on so if you had any questions, I could answer them. . ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images By Udoka has made millions of dollars over his career as a player and coach. Udoka played for Eastern Utah Junior College and the University of San Francisco before returning home to Portland State. The Celtics will open their season at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18. Whats their motivation for telling us? But Ime knows there's nothing wrong with being a basketball lifer. Youd respect his opinions because he didnt have a thousand of them.. Over the next few years he toiled on the fringes of the NBA. In his first year coaching the Celtics, Udoka has led the team back to the NBA Finals after more than a decade. Chris finch left the raptors midseason to go to the wolves a few years ago, but it is rare. Earlier this season, Udoka was rumored to be a candidate for the Brooklyn Nets' head coaching position after Steve Nash stepped down. This is a step backwards for women in sports who have worked hard to prove themselves in an industry they deserve to be in.. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is among those being considered for the position. Grousbeck consulted with a group of team officials and sought input from outside advisers before determining Udokas punishment, he said. The first-year coach made headlines as a defensive mastermind in his time serving under Greg Popovic, Brett Brown, and Steve Nash in San Antonio, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. He skipped parties and dances and most activities that did not involve a court. Grousbeck said he did not believe that the situation involving Udoka indicated a larger problem within the organization. He was getting ready for the second game a few days later when his mother called and said something had happened to their father. Can we corroborate the information? Ime Udoka is still searching for a new job after his unceremonious departure from the Boston Celtics. The 45-year-old is the only first-year head coach to reach the 50-win mark in the NBA this season and the third rookie head coach in franchise history to win over 50 games. February 22, 2023 9:39 pm ET. Udoka spent the next four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. As they walked off the plane afterward, Aldridge turned to Udoka and told him he was coming to San Antonio. Brett Brown told Stevens that Udoka was the kind of coach players would truly want to win for. He wasnt spectacularly athletic or anything like that, but he always knew how to play the game, and he knew that his mind for the game needed to supersede having athletic ability.. Udoka and his sister, Mfon Udoka, who played for the Nigerian womens national team and in the WNBA for three seasons, were the first brother-sister pair to play in both the NBA and WNBA, according to a 2006 report in the Los Angeles Times. We didnt go on family vacations. Grousbeck acknowledged that the Celtics players were concerned about the situation Its not a welcome development, he said though he said he expected them to come together and play hard this season. And Robert Williams, the teams starting center, underwent arthroscopic surgery this week to remove loose bodies and address swelling in his left knee. Udoka had been under suspension since September for having an affair with a staff member. The Brooklyn Nets considered hiring Quin Snyder after they fired Steve Nash and changed their mind on pursuing Ime Udoka, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. After the suspension was announced Sept. 22, Udoka, 45, released a statement to ESPN that said, I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down.. Udoka led Boston to victories over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Miami Heat in the East finals in seven games before the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in six games. Udoka is the fifth coach in the past 25 years to reach the NBA Finals in his first season as a head coach and the first since Nick Nurse in 2019. One of those seasons resulted in a championship. Last week, Boston promoted interim head coach Joe Mazzulla to the permanent position, ending Udoka's time with the organization. Nick Wosika/USA Today Sports, via Reuters. Who is the lowest paid NBA player in the 2022-2023 season? Do the sources know the information? Still, Udoka did not want to get his hopes up. When the electricity was shut off in their Portland apartment, Agnes would gather everyone near the gas oven to stay warm. An investigation found that Udoka used "crude language" with the staffer before starting a relationship with her, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The law firm relayed its findings to the team on Wednesday, Grousbeck said. Just as Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka continue to inspire the next generation of African players, Ime Udoka is a trailblazer for aspiring coaches from Nigeria and across the continent, said NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams. In his only year as a head coach, Udoka took the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season. True to form, he even played Tatum for 35 minutes during the All-Star Game, in a successful attempt to help him score an NBA record 55 points in the exhibition. From his time as both a player and assistant coach, Udoka has been commended by his teammates and coaches for the traits that make for a successful NBA coach: hard work ethic, ability to teach, stoicism and patience, the latter of which is the Ibibio meaning of Udokas first name. Vitalis and his wife, Agnes, who was from Illinois, tried to shield their children James, Mfon, and Ime, the youngest. About 10 games into the season, Udoka tore his ACL again. Who took graveyard shifts loading trailers for FedEx just so it wouldnt disrupt his training sessions. But it was crushing that he would never see what came next. Im going to do it. So his answer to Grousbecks question may have sounded overdone, but it was honest. The Charleston Lowgators of the NBDL (now the G-League) selected him with the 39th pick in the NBDL draft, and Udoka was called up to play for the Lakers in 2004. Assistant coach Joe Prunty is currently Atlantas interim head coach. He hopscotched around as a college player, enrolling at Eastern Utah junior college and the University of San Francisco before he spent his final two seasons at Portland State, where he was known for his stout defense before a knee injury ended his senior year. In his only year as a head coach, Udoka took the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season. Gregg Popovich, Udokas coach in San Antonio, also drove that message home. I knew that if I had one more injury, itd all be over. Danilo Gallinari, a veteran forward who signed with the Celtics this summer and figured to create space with his perimeter shooting, could miss the entire season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Italys national team last month. Webster, one of Udokas teammates that season, said in an interview last week that Udoka was a total pro: early to practice, always prepared. Over the past few years he had interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Hornets, Magic, Raptors, Pistons, and Cavaliers, and he hadnt. He only knew one way to play. Udoka was set to be hired by the Nets after their firing of Steve Nash early in the season, but Brooklyn ownership changed course mostly due to the bad PR they were getting. When Udoka walked back into the living room at his Brooklyn home, his family knew what had happened just from his smile. The investigation had some twists and turns and took some time to develop all the facts, he said. Mfon was in Nigeria when her brothers news broke and watched it reverberate through the country. The Celtics cited violations of team policies in their announcement. Added Budenholzer, who is currently the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks: One of the toughest, smartest, strongest players that I have been around. He said Udoka would likely experience pain for years, and that he should consider a new career path. Atlanta is finesse and shooting and their power positions like Collins and capella are hardly grunts and grinders. Ime Udokas impact in Boston has been immediate as the rookie head coach has taken the Celtics somewhere they havent been since the days of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is (a)mong the candidates being considered for the (Atlanta) Hawks coaching vacancy, according to Substacks Marc Stein. One constant for Udoka, though, was basketball. teammates. Hes like, I live here [in Los Angeles] right now. So who is Udoka? In his new role as the Celtics president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens made two enormous moves for the franchise before the NBA Finals even began. CNN Ime Udoka, head coach of the Boston Celtics, has been suspended for the entire NBA season for violations of team policies, the organization announced Thursday night. When is Steph Curry returning to Golden State Warriors? September 22, 2022 9:27 pm ET. In addition to Snyder and Udoka, Atkinson also has HC experience; he coached Brooklyn for a few seasons, but Im guessing that was just oversight. He was then permanently replaced last week when Joe Mazzulla was named the teams permanent head coach. Aldridge inked a four-year $80 million deal with the Spurs later that summer. His father, Vitalis, came to Oregon from Nigeria to attend Portland State and chase the American dream, but he found that it was not that simple. And we all wanted to see him succeed.. He played under Nate McMillan (head coach) and Monty Williams (assistant coach) in Portland during the 2006-07 season, and played for and coached with Mike Budenholzer in San Antonio from 2010 to 2013. If Celtics let Ime Udoka become Nets coach, more than basketball is on the line. Boston will hold its media day Monday before beginning training camp. Ime would love it. He had surprising success in his first season, leading a team of rising young stars to the N.B.A. We were poor. By Esteban Bustillos. Third on this list at +300 is none other than former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. Its always been that way.. Youd respect his opinions, because he didnt have a thousand of them., Gregg Popovich on coaching with Ime Udoka, And Ime just hopped on the plane and was like, Ill fly with you, Aldridge said. It was a rough start to his rookie season as the Celtics were the 9 seed and had a losing record at the end of 2021. After a quick coaching search the Celtics came to an agreement with the former a quickly he began injecting his DNA into the side. On Thursday, the Boston Celtics suspended their head coach Ime Udoka for a full year due to what they referred to as improper relationship. Now, the coach who led them to the NBA finals last spring for the entire 2022-23 season, has left open the possibility that a longer separation could follow. In February 2010, when Udoka played for the Kings, he had met actress Nia Long when a mutual friend set them up while they were both in Boston. In his only year as a head coach, Udoka took the Celtics to the NBA Finals Last June, a small but powerful Celtics contingent flew to New York to interview Nets assistant Ime Udoka for Bostons head coaching vacancy. Udoka takes some solace in the fact that Vitalis knew he had reached the NBA. So when he got this job it was just very satisfying, and easy to be over-the-moon happy for him..