The Rockets on Tuesday announced they have hired Ime Udoka as the 15th head coach in franchise history.
In his lone season as head coach of Boston in 2021-22, Udoka helped the Celtics grew from a .500 team the previous season to one that won 51 games and reached the NBA Finals, a run that included Game 7 victories over Milwaukee and Miami.
Buy Rockets TicketsIn a statement issued by the team, general manager Rafael Stone made his first comments on Houston’s decision to hire Udoka:
We are excited to welcome Ime to the Houston Rockets. Ime’s intelligence, drive and toughness were the traits we were looking for in a coach to lead our team through this next stage of our development as we strive to become a champion.
We were honored to have the opportunity to speak to multiple outstanding candidates throughout the interview process and felt that Ime’s vision best aligned with the goals the Fertitta family and myself have for the future of the Rockets.
#Rockets GM Rafael Stone (@RafaelStone12) on Ime Udoka:
“Ime’s intelligence, drive and toughness were the traits we were looking for in a coach to lead our team through this next stage of our development as we strive to become a champion.”https://t.co/546c3i2sLX
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) April 26, 2023
In the 2021-22 season, Udoka’s Celtics ranked first in the NBA in both field goal defense and fewest points allowed, which came after the team ranked 13th in defensive rating the previous season. He was a two-time winner of the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award and finished fourth in voting for Coach of the Year.
Prior to becoming head coach of the Celtics, Udoka was an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio staff from 2012-13 through 2018-19, followed by stints on Brett Brown’s Philadelphia staff in 2019-20 and Steve Nash’s Brooklyn staff in 2020-21.
Those teams made the playoffs in each of Udoka’s nine seasons as an assistant. The Spurs won the title in 2013-14. Udoka was also a member of Popovich’s staff for USA Basketball during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
As a player, Udoka spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA from 2003-04 through 2010-11. After going undrafted in 2000, he had brief stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York but spent most of his time in the NBA Development League and playing overseas.
Udoka’s first full NBA season was as a 29-year-old for Portland in 2006-07. The following season he helped the Spurs reach the Western Conference finals. Besides Popovich, Udoka played for coaches Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Nate McMillan and Paul Westphal.
Udoka, whose father was of Nigerian decent, represented the Nigerian national team and was the team’s leading scorer at the 2006 FIBA World Championships. His sister, Mfon, played in the WNBA, including for the Houston Comets in 2003.
Udoka will hold an introductory press conference at 1 p.m. Central on Wednesday. That conference will mark Udoka’s first public comments since being suspended from the Celtics in September over a scandal related to an improper workplace relationship. The Rockets investigated that incident during their coaching search with both the Celtics and the league office, and they determined it would not prohibit his future employment by another NBA team.
