November 14, (THEWILL) – After what seemed to be an experiential teething period for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the gamble to appoint Nigerian-American Ime Udoka to his first managerial post in American basketball after Celtics former coach, Brad Stevens, moved up to club management, has tentatively started to reap fruits.
Before Friday’s game against the defending champions, Milwaukee Bucks, Celtics had won three of four games to position themselves among the upwardly mobile teams in the championship, enough for Udoka to look like the real deal.
Yet, it is too early to celebrate.
During Udoka’s first stint as substantive coach, there were shaky times, especially in the ongoing experiment between Celtics duo of frontline talents Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Added to this, an observable instance of growth has been witnessed among the players around Tatum and Brown, all of who have contributed to the uptick in the team’s performances in their progress this fresh season.
The latest turnaround began when Marcus Smart, the team’s starting point guard, criticised Tatum and Brown for essentially hogging the ball after a loss to the Chicago Bulls on November 1. As public as the criticism was and as directly hard-hitting Smart was when he pointedly dropped their names, all made it appear that the project that Udoka was trying to build in his debut managerial task at Celtics was in danger of spiraling toward premature dysfunction before it ever had the chance of leaving the ground.
However, to Udoka’s credit, that has not happened. Instead, it has evoked the reverse impact of becoming the turning point that has effectively seen his charges pick up the gauntlet to see that the team, the fans and their new coach celebrate a string of victories to steady their season. They can now begin to build on the grandiose plans that their Nigerian-American coach has mapped out for the challenge they are bound to pose in the championship this season, especially in the Eastern Conference, which is expected to be a lot better than the 11th position that they occupy, which is based off the poor results and initial capitulations in their shaky start to the NBA season.
A far cry from that wobbly start, the Celtics are suddenly guarding, scoring, rebounding and winning after upsetting the Toronto Raptors 104 – 88 on last Wednesday. It could not have come at a better time for Udoka, who is still getting used to his high-profile role. The Celtics’ win over the Raptors was their first at home this season. The goal now is to keep the momentum going. It is a tough call, but Udoka appears the man capable of making it happen as he begins to establish a reputation for himself no more as an assistant coach but as the one calling the shots and making the talents in his team work cohesively towards set targets and uniform objectives.
At the end of June, in the off-season, Udoka was named the head coach of Boston Celtics, an elevation that made the Nigerian-American the 18th head coach, sixth Black coach and the first of African origin, in the 75-year history of the NBA club. At the time, the terms of the deal were not disclosed as per team policy. What was obvious was that Celtics were betting on the former Nigerian international and seven-year NBA veteran to put his nine years of assistant coaching experience to excellent use as the substantive coach in their top position. The confidence they had in trying out Udoka, who was yet to experience the pros and cons of making the tough calls required of a coach at the highest levels of the championship, was hinged on the faith of outgoing Celtics coach, Brad Stevens, in Udoka’s potentials.
Stevens, who was going to become Celtics President of Basketball Operations, said at the time: “I would like to welcome Ime, Nia, Kez, and Massai to the Boston Celtics. 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. 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.”
The work ethic that Stevens characterised Udoka with was developed overtime as a professional basketball player in the NBA and painstakingly groomed with professional experience as a coach, in an assistant capacity after his active playing days were over. Before accepting the offer to coach the Celtics, Udoka had spent the preceding nine NBA seasons as an assistant coach first with the San Antonio Spurs from the 2012/2013 season to the 2018/2019 season. Leaving there, he joined Philadelphia 76ers for one season: 2019/2020; before moving to join coach Steve Nash of the Brooklyn Nets last season.
Udoka’s output has seen him serve as an assistant coach in all these nine seasons with teams that have consistently qualified for the playoffs every time. As a matter of fact, the 44-year-old already boasts of an NBA championship victory as Spurs won the title in 2014, while Udoka served as assistant coach to Gregg Popovich and they defeated the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games (4–1) for the their fifth NBA championship in franchise history. As a further recognition of his talent and working relationship with Popovich, Udoka was named assistant to Popovich for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in 2018 and again at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo this year.
The benefit of a professional career in the NBA has reflected brightly in his managerial output. Udoka was a professional basketball player for 12 years, including seven seasons in the NBA from the 2003/2004 season to the 2010/2011 campaign. In his 316 career games with sides such as the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers, Udoka averaged 5.2 points on 41.7 percent shooting (35.6 percent three-point shooting), 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 18.1 minutes.
According to a 2006 report in the Los Angeles Times, Udoka and his sister, Mfon Udoka, who played for the Nigerian women’s national team and in the WNBA for three seasons, were the first brother-sister pair to play in both the NBA and the WNBA. By virtue of his father, Vitalis Udoka’s Nigerian origin, of an Akwa Ibom heritage, and by birth, as Udoka was born in Nigeria, the incumbent Celtics coach was eligible to represent Nigeria internationally while still in active duty, and that was exactly what he did. In the Green and White of D’Tigers, Nigeria’s senior men’s national basketball team, Udoka led Nigeria in scoring, assists, and steals at the 2006 FIBA World Championships. He also demonstrated his talents with the ball in the country’s colours while representing Nigeria at the FIBA Africa Championships in 2005 and 2011, winning bronze medals in both competitions after defeating Algeria in 2005 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2011.
As player and assistant coach, Udoka was effusively praised by his players and coaches for the qualities that make for a good NBA coach in his own right, including a strong work ethic, as aforesaid, an ability to educate, entrenched stoicism and immense patience, the latter of which is the Ibibio meaning of his first name “Ime”.
Mike Budenholzer, the current coach of NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom Udoka played and coached in San Antonio between 2010 and 2013, said of the Nigerian-American: “One of the toughest, smartest and strongest players that I have seen around. Nobody could move him or really mess with him at all. He’s just got this quiet – everybody just knew – there was a great toughness … behind that … a guy that’s just highly intelligent but also has a toughness, has a way of communicating and connecting with players. He’s just got a great way about him.”
That is what the Celtics aimed for when they signed on Udoka and the results may not have immediately translated this dogged determination, but Udoka’s history of tenacity and admirable work ethic recognised in his active and coaching career by those with whom he has both played and worked with, is the type of outcome that will delight the fans, energise the team and propel them towards history. It is this optimism that will keep them going, with Udoka’s guidance making it work to transform the Celtics into a winning squad.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
