Ime Udoka is quite possibly one of the best rookie head coaches that we have seen in recent memory. In his first season with the Boston Celtics, he managed to coach the team all the way to the NBA Finals, and it is clear that he was one of the big reasons for the team having the success that it did.
The Boston Celtics traded for Malcolm Brogdon this offseason, and it seems as though the guard is already impressed with Ime Udoka. When speaking to Spencer Davies of Basketball News, Brogdon revealed that he admires Udoka’s “authenticity” adding that “it’s hard to find” in the league.
“I admire his authenticity, his realness. He’s a straight shooter, he’s very direct. There’s not a lot of gray area with him. You can have coaches that don’t want to tell you the truth, that sorta beat around the bush. He’s far from that, so I really appreciate that about him. It’s hard to find. I’ve had maybe two conversations with him. I can tell he’s a player’s coach. He was in the league for a while, he knows how to talk to you, he knows how to relate to you, but he also knows how to coach
One of the fantastic things about Ime Udoka’s coaching style is his being willing to call out star players who do not perform up to his standard. After the Boston Celtics lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, Udoka even put the blame on the loss on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
“Having Marcus and Al might have helped, because they settle us down, but it wasn’t really just that. And it wasn’t our young guys, Payton and Aaron, but it was our veterans Jayson and Jaylen who let it get away from us.”
Due to Udoka’s coaching prowess, it is quite likely that he’ll find a way to put Malcolm Brogdon in the best role for the guard to succeed. It is quite likely that he will be a sixth man for the team, and Brogdon will give the Celtics a player who can relieve the pressure on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum offensively.
Hopefully, we see the Boston Celtics get back to the Finals next season. They are just getting started as a young team, and perhaps we’ll see Ime Udoka lead them to the highest stage once again in the future.
