The Ime Udoka era officially began today for the Boston Celtics.
And the Boston’s new head coach wasted no time in letting fans know his first plan was to work on young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“They’re going to allow me to coach them, push them,” said Udoka at Monday morning’s press conference. “They know I’m going to be on their ass, and that’s what they like about me, they’ve asked me about that. They want to be pushed, they want to be directed toward winning, and you expect that from your stars.
“The bottom line is they want to win and help us get [championship] No. 18. That part was attractive. Obviously, you see the physical talent. Now this is a chance to see them grow and become better leaders, more vocal, and continue to push them to be great.”
Udoka, the Celtics’ 18th coach in its 75-year history, will try to get the team to rise past its recent injury bugs and playoff struggles. He’s the team’s sixth Black head coach behind Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Tom Sanders, M.L. Carr and Doc Rivers. Udoka is also the first head coach of African origin in NBA history.
To Brad Stevens, now the team’s president of basketball operations, Udoka is the right man to do what he could not.
“Among the many outstanding qualities that Ime brings to the table are his character, humility, and competitiveness. He has a relentless work ethic and a vast array of experiences as a player and coach,” said Stevens. “He’s a leader that is warm and demanding, and we are so excited that he has chosen to join us in pursuit of Banner 18.”
Udoka spent the last nine NBA seasons as an assistant coach with the Spurs (2012-19), Sixers (2019) and the Nets (2020). He won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2014.
He also was an assistant with USA basketball under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in 2018.
Prior to coaching, Udoka played 12 years of professional basketball. Seven seasons in the NBA with teams such as the Spurs, Trailblazers, Kings, Knicks and Lakers. He also played for Nigeria in international competition.
Now he gets his shot at the top spot with Boston’s storied franchise.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the historic Celtics franchise. Coaching this talented roster and working alongside Brad makes it an ideal situation,” said Udoka. “I’d like to thank Wyc, Steve, and Brad for entrusting me with this opportunity. I look forward to getting started right away.”
He’s ready to work and Stevens is excited to have him.
“It’s his authenticity, his ability to be tough and yet very warm, and it’s his experience. Not only the experience of playing but being eight through 15 on the roster a lot, and then being in San Antonio all those years, and then the last two years seeing totally different things up close in Philly and Brooklyn is a great thing. We could go on and on with the adjectives, but that really stood out as separating him throughout this process.”
Udoka is a Portland, OR native. He started his college career at Utah State University Eastern (1995-97) before transferring to the University of San Francisco (1997-98). He finished at Portland State (1999-00).
