Getty Celtics coach Ime Udoka (left) and point guard Marcus Smart
Over the course of the last five NBA seasons, Celtics coach Ime Udoka has gotten pretty good at job interviews. As well he should—he has probably had more than any coaching candidate in the league, and was repeatedly denied a head-coaching job.
Fortunately for the Celtics, none of those other potential situations worked out, and for years, Udoka remained one of the most respected assistant coaches in the NBA without getting the promotion to a head-coaching role. That changed, of course, last summer and Udoka has proven to be the right fit for a Celtics team that has responded to his tough-love approach.
“So many teams blew it with him,” said one Eastern Conference executive. “His experience, his demeanor, his intelligence—he was a great candidate for a lot of years but no one took the plunge on him. And this team, it is perfect for him. He is perfect for them. They have the right weapons but they needed a guy like him, they needed an a**-kicker. They were soft, they needed to be toughened up. That’s what he does and they responded.”
At Least 10 Teams Passed on Udoka
Udoka first became a name of interest as a head coach in 2016, when he was reported to be the “leading candidate” to take over the Nets, a job that eventually went to Kenny Atkinson. He was also the lead assistant for the team last year, and the Nets could have hired him instead of Steve Nash.
In 2018, Udoka was the hot name on the coaching market, getting interviews in Toronto, Detroit, Orlando and Charlotte.
Two of those hires are still around—Nick Nurse helped the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and Dwane Casey is still leading the Pistons’ rebuilding efforts. One, the Hornets’ James Borrego, was just fired and the other, Steve Clifford of the Magic, flamed out after three seasons.
Udoka was considered a sure thing to get the Cavaliers job in 2019, until Cleveland oddly swerved late in the process and hired Michigan coach John Beilein, who did not even make it through one season. He was a strong candidate for the Bulls job in 2020 that went to Billy Donovan, was the favorite of some with the Knicks that offseason for the job that went to Tom Thibodeau, and was also on the Pacers’ list. Indiana went with Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren, though, and he was dumped after one disastrous season.
There were also the Sixers, who could have bumped Udoka into the lead chair when they fired Brett Brown in 2020, but instead brought in Doc Rivers.
There were plenty of chances, then, for things to work out a lot different, for the Celtics not to have landed Udoka as the replacement for Brad Stevens.
Udoka Has Been Tough on the Celtics
Indeed, Udoka has been a sharp contrast from Stevens, whose innovativeness and grasp of Xs and Os was sometimes lost because of his mild-mannered personality—he was never a coach to lose his temper or call out his team publicly.
Udoka is not Bobby Knight by any stretch, but he has been willing to be blunt with his team and did not hide his frustration at especially difficult points in this season, like back on January 7 when the Celtics blew a 25-point lead and Udoka called out his team, saying, “I think it’s a lack of mental toughness.”
The Celtics responded to Udoka’s digs. They finished the season as the best defensive team in the league, and won 26 of their final 32 games heading into the postseason. Now, Udoka has shown his worth, earning a spot in the NBA Finals as a rookie head coach.
But in keeping with his tough-guy persona, Udoka was not going overboard with that accomplishment on Sunday night. “We don’t celebrate Eastern Conference championships in the Boston Celtics organizations,” he said.