Sixers Rival Watch: Ime Udoka’s Time With Celtics Finished

Ime Udoka is officially out as the Celtics' head coach after one season.

The Boston Celtics made the obvious decision to promote their interim head coach Joe Mazzulla on Thursday morning. According to a press release, the Celtics have officially named Mazzulla the 19th head coach in franchise history.

Not only did the Celtics remove the interim title from Mazzulla’s position with his promotion, but the organization announced that they had reached an extension with him.

With that announcement, it’s become clear that Ime Udoka’s time as the head coach of the Boston Celtics has officially concluded after one season.

Going into the 2022-2023 NBA season, Udoka was suspended for the entire season for violating team policies. Although he wasn’t released right away, it became clear that Udoka’s time in Boston could end much sooner than expected.

And when the Brooklyn Nets fired their head coach Steve Nash early on in the year, Udoka was on their radar as a potential replacement. The Celtics were reportedly open to letting the Nets scoop up the head coach if they wanted him as a replacement.

As we know now, the Nets never moved forward by hiring Udoka. Instead, they promoted Jacque Vaughn to the head coaching position. The Celtics will do the same with Mazzulla, who has thrived in his first season as the Celtics’ head coach.

At this point in the year, Boston holds a record of 42-17. They are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, one game in front of the Milwaukee Bucks. 

With Mazzulla in Boston to stay, Udoka is expected to be a “strong candidate” this upcoming offseason for vacant head coaching jobs, according to SI’s Chris Mannix. 

Udoka will hit the market with just one year of experience as a head coach. He’s had several stints as an assistant, including a seven-year run with the San Antonio Spurs, one season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and one season with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.