Ime Sunday Udoka ( ; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player who is the head coach for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(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 Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

on August 9, 1977. He attended Portland's Jefferson High School.

College career

Udoka played for

Utah State University Eastern Utah State University Eastern (USU Eastern) is a public regional college within the Utah State Universitybr>system The USU Eastern campus is located in Price, Utah, United States. Founded as Carbon College in 1937, the college joined the Universi ...

and the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

before transferring to

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

where he starred for the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Professional career

Udoka started his professional basketball career by playing in the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

with the

Charleston Lowgators Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

who drafted him with 39th overall pick in 2002

Draft. He was called up to play with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 The Fort Worth Flyers were a minor league basketball team in the NBA Development League (D-League) based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005–06 season and were shut down for the 2007–08 season. Franchise history In 2005, Sout ...

in 2005 NBDL Draft. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Flyers. On April 6, 2006, Udoka was signed by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Udoka was waived by the Knicks on September 11, 2006. Udoka was the last player invited to his hometown

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

' training camp before the 2006–07 season, getting the invitation only after

Aaron Miles Aaron Wade Miles (born December 15, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2011 for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Chica ...

failed a

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

. Despite the death of his father during the

preseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, Udoka impressed the coaching staff with his defensive skills and made the team. 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 The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. 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. Following the 2009 season, Udoka became a free agent, eventually re-signing with the Trail Blazers. He was waived by the Blazers on October 22, 2009, but signed with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

on November 4, 2009. 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, but he was waived on January 5, 2011 after playing only 20 games. On December 15, 2011, Udoka signed with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. However, he was waived on December 23, 2011. In January 2012, Udoka signed with

UCAM Murcia UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball team based in Murcia, Spain. It plays their home games at Palacio de Deportes. History Founded in 1985 u ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

Coaching career

San Antonio Spurs (2012–2019)

In August 2012, Udoka joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach for

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spur ...

. Udoka would win his first championship as the Spurs defeated the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in the

2014 NBA Finals The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the two-time defending NBA ...

, 4–1. Udoka was also the key for

LaMarcus Aldridge LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with the Texas Longhorns. ...

's decision to join the Spurs in 2015. Both Udoka and Aldridge played together with the Trail Blazers during Aldridge's rookie season.

Philadelphia 76ers (2019–2020)

In June 2019, Udoka was hired as an assistant coach of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. Udoka's head coach on the 76ers,

Brett Brown Brett William Brown (born February 16, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Brown is a former college basketball player who previously ...

, also coached under Gregg Popovich for the Spurs, and Udoka and Brown were on the same staff in the 2012–13 season.

Brooklyn Nets (2020–2021)

On October 30, 2020, the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

hired Udoka as an assistant coach.

Boston Celtics (2021–present)

On June 28, 2021, Udoka was hired as head coach of the

, becoming the fifth head coach of African origin in Boston Celtics history. 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 The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

appearance since

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. The Celtics lost in six games to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On September 22, the Celtics suspended Udoka for the entirety of the 2022–23 season for violations of team policies, pertaining to an improper intimate relationship with a female Celtics staff member. Though the relationship was originally believed by the organization to be consensual, the woman later accused Udoka of making unwanted comments towards her. 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 Adrian Wojnarowski (; born March 4, 1969), nicknamed Woj, is an American sports columnist and reporter. He is an NBA insider for ESPN, having previously covered the NBA for Yahoo! Sports. Personal life Wojnarowski was born in Bristol, Connectic ...

reported that Udoka is not guaranteed to stay with the organization following the 2022–23 season. Assistant coach

Joe Mazzulla Joseph Mazzulla (born June 30, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for West Virginia University. High school ...

took his place as the interim head coach.

National team career

Udoka was a player on the Nigerian national team. At the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

s, Udoka led Nigeria in scoring, assists, and steals. Udoka also played for Nigeria in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

FIBA Africa Championships, winning a bronze medal in both tournaments. Udoka has served as an assistant coach for

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...

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 Jayson Christopher Tatum Sr. (; born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A McDonald's All-American in high school in Missouri, he played college baske ...

Jaylen Brown Jaylen Marselles Brown (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the California Golden Bears, being n ...

, and

Marcus Smart Marcus Osmond Smart (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Smart was drafted with the ...

, who advocated for his hiring as the new Boston head coach. Udoka also coached for Team USA under Popovich at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo, along with Celtics assistant Will Hardy.

Personal life

Udoka's father was of Nigerian descent, 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. In November 2011, Udoka's then-girlfriend,

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

, gave birth to their first child. The couple became engaged in May 2015. Long has stated she has no plans to marry.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 75 , , 75 , , 28.6 , , .461 , , .406 , , .742 , , 3.7 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 73 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .424 , , .370 , , .759 , , 3.1 , , .9 , , .8 , , .2 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 69 , , 2 , , 13.7 , , .378 , , .286 , , .737 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .238 , , .000 , , .500 , , .9 , , .7 , , .4 , , .0 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 316 , , 80 , , 18.1 , , .417 , , .356 , , .705 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.2

Playoffs

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2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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, 16 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .465 , , .400 , , .714 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 20.8 , , .350 , , .125 , , .400 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 0 , , 16.2 , , .440 , , .354 , , .583 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 5.0

Head coaching record

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Udoka, Ime 1977 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players African Americans in Oregon American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball coaches from Oregon Basketball players from Portland, Oregon Boston Celtics head coaches Brooklyn Nets assistant coaches CB Gran Canaria players CB Murcia players Charleston Lowgators players Fort Worth Flyers players Independiente de General Pico basketball players JA Vichy players Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Liga ACB players Los Angeles Lakers players National Basketball Association controversies New York Knicks players Nigerian basketball coaches Nigerian men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Portland State Vikings men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers players Sacramento Kings players San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs players San Francisco Dons men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Undrafted National Basketball Association players African-American history of Oregon