Ime Udoka

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Ime Udoka
File:ImeUdoka2022.jpg
Udoka with the Boston Celtics in 2022
Boston Celtics
Position Head coach (suspended)
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1977-08-09) August 9, 1977 (age 46)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Nationality American / Nigerian
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Jefferson (Portland, Oregon)
College
NBA draft 2000 / Undrafted
Playing career 2000–2012
Position Small forward
Number 5, 8, 3
Coaching career 2012–present
Career history
As player:
2000–2001 Fargo-Moorhead Beez
2001 Independiente
2002–2003 North Charleston Lowgators
2003 Adirondack Wildcats
2003–2004 Charleston Lowgators
2004 Los Angeles Lakers
2004 Charleston Lowgators
2004 Gran Canaria
2005 JA Vichy
2005–2006 Fort Worth Flyers
2006 New York Knicks
2006–2007 Portland Trail Blazers
2007–2009 San Antonio Spurs
2009–2010 Sacramento Kings
2010–2011 San Antonio Spurs
2012 UCAM Murcia
As coach:
2012–2019 San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
2019–2020 Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
2020–2021 Brooklyn Nets (assistant)
2021–present Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:
Career NBA statistics
Points 1,635 (5.2 ppg)
Rebounds 926 (2.9 rpg)
Assists 308 (1.0 apg)
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Nigeria
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Algeria Nigeria
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Madagascar Nigeria

Ime Sunday Udoka (/ˈiːmeɪ uːˈdoʊkə/ EE-may-_-oo-DOH-kə; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), currently suspended by the team for the 2022–23 season. He represented the Nigeria national team during his playing career.

Early life

Udoka was born in Portland, Oregon on August 9, 1977. He attended Portland's Jefferson High School.[1]

College career

Udoka played for Utah State University Eastern and the University of San Francisco before transferring to Portland State University where he starred for the Vikings.[2]

Professional career

File:Ime Udoka 2.jpg
195x195px

Udoka started his professional basketball career by playing in the NBDL with the Charleston Lowgators who drafted him with 39th overall pick in 2002 NBDL Draft.[3] He was called up to play with the Los Angeles Lakers on January 14, 2004, but was later waived. After a stint in Europe, Udoka returned to the United States and once again drafted in NBDL. This time he was drafted third overall by the Fort Worth Flyers in 2005 NBDL Draft.[4] He averaged 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Flyers.[5] On April 6, 2006, Udoka was signed by the New York Knicks. Udoka was waived by the Knicks on September 11, 2006.

Udoka was the last player invited to his hometown Portland Trail Blazers' training camp before the 2006–07 season, getting the invitation only after Aaron Miles failed a physical. Despite the death of his father during the preseason,[6] Udoka impressed the coaching staff with his defensive skills and made the team.[citation needed] After having played in only 12 NBA games in his career, Udoka started in 75 games played in the 2006–07 season. He played 28.6 minutes per game while averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals.

In 2007, Udoka signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs.[5][7] He played in 73 games averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18 minutes. On his second season with the Spurs, Udoka played in 67 games, and started in three. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.4 minutes.[8]

Following the 2009 season, Udoka became a free agent, eventually re-signing with the Trail Blazers.[9] He was waived by the Blazers on October 22, 2009,[10][11] but signed with the Sacramento Kings on November 4, 2009.[12] He played 69 games with the Kings, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.7 minutes.

On November 24, 2010, Udoka rejoined the Spurs,[13] but he was waived on January 5, 2011 after playing only 20 games.[14]

On December 15, 2011, Udoka signed with the New Jersey Nets.[15] However, he was waived on December 23, 2011.[16]

In January 2012, Udoka signed with UCAM Murcia of the Spanish Liga ACB.[17]

Coaching career

San Antonio Spurs (2012–2019)

In August 2012, Udoka joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich. Udoka would win his first championship as the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals, 4–1.[18]

Udoka was also the key for LaMarcus Aldridge's decision to join the Spurs in 2015. Both Udoka and Aldridge played together with the Trail Blazers during Aldridge's rookie season.[19]

Philadelphia 76ers (2019–2020)

In June 2019, Udoka was hired as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.[20] Udoka's head coach on the 76ers, Brett Brown, also coached under Gregg Popovich for the Spurs, and Udoka and Brown were on the same staff in the 2012–13 season.[21]

Brooklyn Nets (2020–2021)

On October 30, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets hired Udoka as an assistant coach.[22]

Boston Celtics (2021–present)

File:Име Удока (2021).png
Udoka in 2021

On June 28, 2021, Udoka was hired as head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the fifth head coach of African origin in Boston Celtics history.[23][24][25][26] Though the Celtics began the season 18–21, Udoka led them to a 51–31 record, finishing as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics won the Eastern Conference title and made their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. The Celtics lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.[27]

On September 22, the Celtics suspended Udoka for the entirety of the 2022–23 season for violations of team policies,[28] pertaining to an improper intimate relationship with a female Celtics staff member.[29][30] Though the relationship was originally believed by the organization to be consensual, the woman later accused Udoka of making unwanted comments towards her.[31] Udoka issued an apology after the suspension was handed out. He chose not to resign from his position as a result of the violation, though Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Udoka is not guaranteed to stay with the organization following the 2022–23 season.[32] Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla took his place as the interim head coach.[33]

National team career

Udoka was a player on the Nigerian national team. At the 2006 FIBA World Championships, Udoka led Nigeria in scoring, assists, and steals.[26] Udoka also played for Nigeria in the 2005 and 2011 FIBA Africa Championships, winning a bronze medal in both tournaments.[34]

Udoka has served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball under his Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich. Udoka's coaching role on the 2019 FIBA World Cup team helped him build relationships with Celtics players Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, who advocated for his hiring as the new Boston head coach.[35] Udoka also coached for Team USA under Popovich at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, along with Celtics assistant Will Hardy.[36]

Personal life

Udoka's father was of Nigerian descent,[6] which qualified the younger Udoka for Nigerian citizenship. His older sister, Mfon, played in the WNBA. His mother, who died in late 2011, was an American from Illinois.[37]

In November 2011, Udoka's then-girlfriend, Nia Long, gave birth to their first child.[38] The couple became engaged in May 2015.[39] Long has stated she has no plans to marry.[40][41]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 L.A. Lakers 4 0 7.0 .333 .000 .500 1.3 .5 .5 .2 2.0
2005–06 New York 8 0 14.3 .375 .333 .500 2.1 .8 .1 .0 2.8
2006–07 Portland 75 75 28.6 .461 .406 .742 3.7 1.5 .9 .2 8.4
2007–08 San Antonio 73 0 18.0 .424 .370 .759 3.1 .9 .8 .2 5.8
2008–09 San Antonio 67 3 15.4 .383 .328 .609 2.8 .8 .5 .2 4.3
2009–10 Sacramento 69 2 13.7 .378 .286 .737 2.8 .8 .5 .1 3.6
2010–11 San Antonio 20 0 6.5 .238 .000 .500 .9 .7 .4 .0 .7
Career 316 80 18.1 .417 .356 .705 2.9 1.0 .7 .2 5.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 San Antonio 16 0 14.8 .465 .400 .714 2.9 1.1 .7 .1 5.4
2009 San Antonio 5 0 20.8 .350 .125 .400 4.6 .8 .8 .2 3.4
Career 21 0 16.2 .440 .354 .583 3.3 1.0 .7 .1 5.0

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win-loss %
Post season PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win-loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Boston 2021–22 82 51 31 .622 1st in Atlantic 24 14 10 .583 Lost in NBA Finals
Career 82 51 31 .622   24 14 10 .583  

References

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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). and Basketball-Reference.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

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