With the Houston Rockets rebuilt, head coach Ime Udoka makes his way back to Boston.
Players and the former Celtics coach discuss his development following his 2023 suspension and firing.
On June 16, 2022, Ime Udoka concluded his first season as the Boston Celtics’ coach. He was pleased with his team’s performance, even though he was two victories away from an NBA title. Udoka, who was the Houston Rockets’ coach at the time, will be back on the sidelines at TD Garden on Saturday for the first time since that summer. Between the trip to the NBA Finals and taking over as coach of the Rockets, Udoka was suspended and fired by the Celtics due to inappropriate behavior at work.
A responsible Udoka, having been employed by Houston, is attempting to move on. His relationships with his former Celtics teammates are still close, and he has turned the rebuilding Rockets into winners far sooner than expected.
“The players for my team, the Celtics, will express their pride in what we’re accomplishing, and vice versa. I notice what they’re doing as well,” Udoka said on December 17 to Andscape. “The relationships we developed during our one-season stay were the most significant aspect of our experience. I’ll continue to chat with some of those guys for the rest of our lives. There is a strong connection as a result, and while you reflect on the past and consider what might have been, you also recognize the influence you have had and the relationships you will have in the future.
On June 28, 2021, Udoka was hired by the Celtics. After serving a combined nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs, he paid his dues before securing his first head coaching position in the NBA. Before the Celtics were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, they had advanced to the Eastern Conference finals three of the previous four seasons. The former NBA journeyman guard/forward took over the team.
Following a difficult 23–24 start, Udoka led the Celtics to a 51–31 regular-season record and, in his first season, to the 2022 NBA Finals. Boston had not made it to the NBA Finals since 2010. In addition, Udoka placed fourth in the NBA Coach of the Year voting and became one of five rookie head coaches to make it to the NBA Finals in the previous 25 years, per ESPN Stats & Information.
“I’m awesome. Former Celtics guard Marcus Smart said to Andscape, “Obviously, given the circumstances, we didn’t get to give it another go, and it definitely showed.” “It’s not very common for a first-year head coach to take the team he had with Boston to the Finals and beyond, as well as to be right at.500 midway through the season and then go to the championship game. And that’s where we have to give him credit. We forged a unique bond together.
“I was the player. He knows a lot of what we go through as players since he was himself a player. When you can talk to someone in charge, like a coach, or find someone else who is aware of your situation, that connection only grows stronger.
