Ime Udoka’s first season in Boston got off to a bit of a bumpy start, but now it’s nearing as good of an ending as anyone could’ve asked for.
Udoka coached the Celtics to a Game 7 win over the Heat to win the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday, making him the fourth coach in the last eight years to reach the NBA Finals in his first season.
While the Celtics judged correctly on Udoka, there were apparently several other teams that didn’t. In an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Udoka shared that he was close to getting other head coaching jobs prior to Boston hiring him in 2021 as he spent nine seasons as an assistant coach.