The Boston Celtics are headed to the 2022 NBA Finals after defeating the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
Boston had one of the best turnarounds this season and is on the cusp of its 18th NBA championship. A big part of that is because of Portland-born and first-year head coach Ime Udoka.
Taking over for Brad Stevens, Udoka got the most out of the Celtics roster and pushed them to many improvements this year. Notably, Udoka transformed Boston into the most dominant defensive team in the league.
Udoka has been a tremendous fit for the Celtics and is one of the few first-year head coaches in recent years to lead his team to the finals in his first year on the sidelines.
Udoka’s journey to being one of the best young head coaches in the league didn’t come easy, though. He was an assistant for many years and passed over for many head coaching vacancies.
And many of those teams are regretting it.
Udoka revealed the teams that passed over him in a new interview with Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
“You really want me to tell you? Detroit, Indiana, Cleveland,” Udoka told Hayes. “I can go down the list. That was tough because I believe I was ready. But I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of an organization that’s pushing for winning and championships. You can be in a lot of different situations. There are only 30 teams and I get that, but to not be in a rebuild and being in an expectation pressure-filled situation, I wouldn’t trade that in any day.”
Detroit’s job has been filled by Dwayne Casey since 2018, while the Pacers and Cavaliers have hired multiple head coaches in recent years.
Udoka ultimately landed in a better situation than all three of the teams that passed on him, with the Celtics being one of the most prominent franchises in sports.
Instead of walking into rebuild situations, Udoka was able to take over a team already with stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart. Boston was further ahead than those three teams.
And now it wouldn’t be surprising if Udoka is Boston’s coach for a long time. He’s four wins away from winning a championship and locking that in.
— Aron Yohannes
