Ime Udoka walked off the floor after his first season as coach of the Boston Celtics on June 16, 2022, two wins short of an NBA championship, yet proud of what was accomplished. On Saturday, Udoka will return to the sideline to coach at TD Garden for the first time since that summer, as coach of the Houston Rockets. In between the NBA Finals appearance and becoming the Rockets coach was the Celtics’ suspension and dismissal of Udoka for an improper work relationship.
After being hired by Houston, an accountable Udoka is trying to move on. He remains close with his old Celtics players and has made the rebuilding Rockets a winner much faster than anticipated.
“My [Celtics] players will reach out and talk about how proud they are about what we’re doing and then vice versa. I see what they’re doing as well,” Udoka told Andscape on Dec. 17. “The biggest piece from just being there for only one season was those relationships we formed. And some of those guys I’ll talk to for the rest of our lives. And so, there is a close bond and you look back at what could have been, but also understand the impact you had and the relationships [you] will continue to have going forward.”
The Celtics hired Udoka on June 28, 2021. He paid his dues before landing his first NBA head coaching job, having served a combined nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs. The former NBA journeyman guard/forward took over a Celtics squad that reached the Eastern Conference finals in three of the previous four seasons before losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2021.
After a tough 23-24 start, Udoka coached the Celtics to a 51-31 regular-season record and to the 2022 NBA Finals in his first season. It was Boston’s first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. Udoka also became one of five rookie head coaches to reach the NBA Finals in the past 25 years, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and finished fourth in NBA Coach of the Year voting.
“Ime is great. Obviously, under the circumstances, we didn’t get to give it another run and it really showed,” former Celtics guard Marcus Smart told Andscape. “For somebody as a first-year head coach to come in and take the team that he had with Boston, not only to the Finals, but halfway through the season be right at .500 and then take the team to the Finals, that’s not really heard of too often. And we got to give him his credit right there. We built a special relationship.
“Ime played. As a [former] player, he understands a lot of the things we go through as players. That connection only gets stronger when you can talk to somebody in control as a coach or somebody that’s out there that understands what you’re going through.”
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In September 2022, however, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck announced that the franchise was suspending Udoka for the 2022-23 season after an investigation by an outside law firm found multiple violations of team policies. The Celtics named Joe Mazzulla interim head coach in Udoka’s absence.
Smart, now with the Memphis Grizzlies, said that the departure of Udoka had a profound impact on Boston last season. The Celtics fell short of returning to the NBA Finals. They were eliminated in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals in seven games by the Miami Heat.
“It definitely put a dent in us,” Smart told Andscape, describing Udoka’s suspension and firing. “We were on a high wave of making it there [to the Finals] yet coming up short. We we’re expecting after a full [season] under [Udoka], we can do this again and we can really get into it. And we just didn’t get that chance. And when you get a taste of something like that, it’s hard not to want it. And then when you don’t get it anymore it’s like, ‘Dang, what happened? What could have happened? What could we do?’
“It definitely put a dent in us. But the beauty about this game is we’re professionals and we got to go out and play. Unfortunately, it happened. But we definitely learned a lot from Ime.”
The Nets strongly considered hiring Udoka to replace fired coach Steve Nash early during the 2022-23 season. Brooklyn, however, promoted Jacque Vaughn to coach on Nov. 9, 2022. The Celtics named Mazzulla its permanent head coach on Feb. 16, officially ending Udoka’s time with the franchise.
Udoka played professionally in the NBA, the then-D-League, France and Spain from 2002 to 2012 before becoming an NBA assistant from 2012 to 2022. His dismissal from the Celtics gave him his first lengthy break from pro basketball since going undrafted out of Portland State in 2000.
“I missed the day-to-day with the guys. Obviously, it’s all about the players. Once you’ve played, it’s very similar to the day-to-day relationships and camaraderie and bonding with the guys,” Udoka said. “I don’t think that changed as much as a coach. I think most coaches would say, ‘X’s and O’s is great, playing the games is great, but being around guys and those relationships you form is probably the biggest thing.’ ”
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On April 24, 2023, the rebuilding Rockets announced the hiring of Udoka as their head coach. The Rockets investigated with the league office and with the Celtics, among others, before making the job offer, according to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said in a statement at the time that Udoka’s vision “best aligned with the goals the Fertitta Family and myself have for the future of the Rockets.”
“Obviously, he had a really successful season in Boston,” Stone told Andscape. “Even though it was a short track record, he had this really good track record. We spent a lot of time together in a short period. I got a sense of who he was as a person. I felt really comfortable. There are no people that I’m aware of that have lived flawless lives and who have not made mistakes …
“What happened before wasn’t a big hang-up for us. The bigger thing was how we thought he could fit, how he would fit with the group we had and the group we were trying to compile. How I could imagine working with him going forward. And we spent time together and got to know each other, I felt it could be a really good fit.”
On April 26, 2023, the Rockets introduced Udoka as their new coach during a news conference. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said the NBA was comfortable with his franchise’s hiring of Udoka.
During the news conference, Udoka addressed the “elephant in the room” about his dismissal from the Celtics.
“That’s obviously going to be the elephant in the room,” Udoka said. “You have to talk about it going forward, obviously going into a new situation. For me, it was what I could learn from that year off and how you can grow and improve. I’ve always been one to preach and be about accountability. So, you got to do that yourself when you’re in that situation. So, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for me.
“It wasn’t something that I was going to sweep under the rug. You have to address what you’ve been through, what you learned throughout that year and how you can be better going forward. So, that’s the only way I know how to do it, hit it head on and start talking about other things.”
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The Rockets had talented young players on the roster: Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and rookie Amen Thompson. Udoka also played a key role convincing key free agents to sign with Houston, including 2021 NBA All-Star guard Fred VanVleet, defensive-minded guard Dillon Brooks and veteran forward Jeff Green, who won a title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. The combination of young and veteran players gave the Rockets a much-needed mix on the roster.
When asked why he wanted to play for Udoka in Houston, Jeff Green said, “The connection I had with him in Brooklyn knowing his coaching style and watching him in Boston for that [season], seeing how he could get a group going. He has bluntness, which I love, being more direct from coach to player. But he also puts his players in a position to succeed and pulls out the best in him. That is a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of.”
Udoka said during his news conference that he has made the playoffs every year of his career and doesn’t want that to end now. While Udoka wouldn’t offer details, he said his Rockets players showed their postseason expectations by the win totals they each predicted. While expectations for the Rockets were low entering the season, they have been one of the surprise teams of the NBA, entering Tuesday with a 18-17 record.
Sengun is averaging team-highs of 21.4 points and 9.0 rebounds and he was the NBA Player of the Week for last week. VanVleet is averaging 17.5 points and Green is averaging 17.3 points. The defensive-minded Rockets also entered Tuesday with the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating (111.4).
“I see the potential, obviously, but you have to turn that into something realistic,” Udoka said. “There was a combination of the young talent and the free agent opportunities that we had to bring in. And then just the organization in general trying to get there what they call phase 2. They’re starving for winning and wanted change. What I wanted was a lot different than what they had here. We wanted to bring in structure and accountability and all the things that they’re asking for. With the mix of young guys and veterans, I saw the potential there.
“Now the thing I would say is they’re a lot quicker to grasp what we’re trying to do. That happened pretty quickly. But credit to them, the effort was never a problem. It was never a thing about they weren’t going to play hard and be competitive. I saw that from day one even in the summer workouts. And so that kind of boded well for what we wanted to do going forward. And now it’s a chance to take incremental steps and get better. When you look at our record overall, it might surprise some people. But we have a competitive group.”
On Sept. 16, 2023, Smart married his fiancée Maisa Hallum in Newport Coast, California. Among the attendees were his former Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis, Terry Rozier and Grant Williams as well as Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II. Also attending were Udoka, Mazzulla and Celtics general manager Brad Stevens.
Udoka’s presence at Smart’s wedding was an example of how he has kept a close relationship with his former Celtics players.
“We talk regularly, all of them,” Udoka said. “During the year they checked on me when they could. Obviously, we talked initially and then I gave them the space to do what they do and they did the same. But I caught quite a bit of them in the offseason in L.A. I went to Marcus Smart’s wedding.”
It’s uncertain what to expect from the Celtics crowd when Udoka is announced at the end of the Rockets’ introductions on Saturday. As for the Celtics players, it appears there will be a lot of respect shown.
For Udoka, returning to Boston is the next big step toward moving forward with his life.
“You might think for a minute what it’ll be like going back,” Udoka said. “But big picture, it’s not the thing that’s at the forefront of my mind.”
