Knicks Ex Ime Udoka Gets Full-Season Suspension in Boston

Udoka, now the head coach of the Boston Celtics, played eight games with the New York Knicks during a seven-year playing career.

The Boston Celtics announced on Thursday night that head coach Ime Udoka will be suspended for the entirety of the 2022-23 season. 

Udoka, who briefly spent time with the New York Knicks during a seven-year playing career, has officially been suspended for a violation of team rules, which Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported was "an intimate relationship with a female member of the franchise's staff." The Knicks' Atlantic Division rival has clarified that Udoka's suspension will take effect immediately and that "a decision about his future will the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date." 

Udoka is coming off a successful 51-win season at the helm of the Celtics, his first year as a head coach after nine seasons as an assistant between San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. Boston earned its first Eastern Conference championship since 2010 before falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals. 

Prior to his assistant coaching stint with the Nets, Udoka previously partook in New York City hoops through eight games with the Knicks at the end of the 2005-06 season, averaging 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds over eight games. 

As for the immediate future of the Celtics, the team is set to promote assistant Joe Mazzulla as the interim head coach. Mazzulla posted a 43-17 record over two seasons at Division II Fairmont State and has been on the Celtics' bench since 2019. 

The Knicks and Celtics are set to do battle four times this season. New York hosts at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5 and Feb. 27 while the Knicks go to TD Garden on Jan. 26 and Mar. 5 (the latter being nationally televised on ESPN). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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