Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka ‘could face a significant suspension for an improper relationship with a female member of team staff’… less than a month before the NBA season starts
- Team leaders are discussing punishment with a potential ‘significant suspension’
- Ime Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA finals in his first season as a head coach
- Boston opens training camp next Tuesday, with the season tipping off Oct. 18th
Only a few months after leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals – and less than a month away from the start of the next season – head coach Ima Udoka is reportedly facing disciplinary action.
According to The Athletic, Udoka had ‘an improper intimate and consensual relationship’ with a female member of the team staff.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Udoka’s job, ‘isn’t believed to be in jeopardy, but a suspension is looming and a final determination on that length could come as soon as Thursday.’
Discussions within the Celtics organization are reported to be ongoing to determine a potential final punishment.
Wojnarowski’s report says a ‘significant suspension’ could be in order.
According to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Udoka is facing a suspension for a violation of team rules.
His sources said discipline could possibly be decided soon, but did not reveal what Udoka was specifically being punished for.
Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka could be facing a potential suspension days before the start of this year’s NBA season for violating team rules with a punishment not yet determined
Udoka was hired last year in his first head coaching gig and took Boston to the NBA Finals
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Boston Celtics for comment.
Udoka was named head coach of the Boston Celtics at the start of the 2021-22 season, after Brad Stevens was promoted to President of Basketball Operations.
In his first season as a head coach, Udoka amassed a 51-31 record and guided the Celtics to a regular season Atlantic Division title.
Udoka then helped lead Boston all the way to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. There, they fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Before coaching with the Celtics, Udoka spent time as an assistant coach for eight seasons at the San Antonio Spurs under head coach Gregg Popovich.
With the Spurs, he won an NBA title during the 2014 season.
Udoka left San Antonio in 2019, moving to the Philadelphia 76ers. The following season, he became an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.
Prior to joining Boston, Udoka won a ring as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs
He was then hired as the head coach of the Celtics, becoming the fifth Black head coach in the team’s history.
The Celtics will hold a media day on Monday before opening training camp on Tuesday. Their first preseason game is home against the Charlotte Hornets on October 2nd.
Boston opens their regular season slate on October 18th at home against the 76ers.
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