NBA Executive Explains How Teams ‘Blew It’ With Celtics Coach Ime Udoka

Ime Udoka wasn’t just handed an opportunity with the Celtics.

Quite the opposite, in fact. He bounced around — both stateside and overseas — during his playing career, worked his way up the NBA coaching ladder and, in the process, slowly built his résumé.

A host of NBA teams — “at least 10,” according to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney — passed on Udoka before the Celtics offered him their head-coaching job this past offseason. And now, with Udoka leading Boston to the NBA Finals in his first season after replacing Brad Stevens, plenty of organizations likely are feeling some regret.

“So many teams blew it with him,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “His experience, his demeanor, his intelligence — he was a great candidate for a lot of years but no one took the plunge on him. And this team, it is perfect for him. He is perfect for them. They have the right weapons but they needed a guy like him, they needed (a butt)-kicker. They were soft, they needed to be toughened up. That’s what he does and they responded.”

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Udoka took over for Stevens after the latter replaced Danny Ainge as Boston’s president of basketball operations. The Celtics enjoyed plenty of success with Stevens on the bench, advancing to the playoffs in seven straight seasons and reaching the Eastern Conference finals on three separate occasions. But the vibe around the team has been noticeably different with Udoka. Stevens, meanwhile, has excelled in his new front-office role, swinging several impact deals to further shape Boston’s identity.

It’s been a fruitful formula for the Celtics, who now face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals after knocking off the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A lot of credit goes to the players, obviously, especially Boston’s star tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But there’s a clear correlation between Udoka’s arrival and the C’s taking the next step.

The hard work sure has paid off — for all parties involved.