The Boston Celtics have suspended coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season, the team announced Thursday night.
The team cited violations of team policy in the announcement. A source previously told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Udoka had a close relationship with a female staff member of the franchise.
The suspension will take effect immediately, and a decision about Udoka’s future with the organization will be made later, the team said.
In a statement to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Udoka said, “I want to apologize to the players, the fans, the entire Celtics organization and my family for letting me down.” I accept the team’s decision, respect to all involved and will refrain from further comment.”
A mid-season suspension is unprecedented for a current NBA head coach.
The Celtics have named assistant coach Joe Mazura as interim head coach, sources told Wojnarowski.
Udoka’s top assistant coach, Will Hardy, left the team in June to coach the Utah Jazz.
Udoka joined the Celtics last summer after a career in the NBA where he was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
He replaced Brad Stevens as coach. Stevens moved upstairs to become Boston’s president of basketball operations after his predecessor, Danny Ainge, chose to leave the organization.
In his first season as a coach, Udoka oversaw a remarkable turnaround in Boston, going 28-7 in his final 35 games from a sub-.500 batting average in late January. I saw it close out the season. After that, Eastern he made his way through the conference playoffs, making it to his NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years.
Udoka is the fifth coach in the past 25 years to reach the NBA Finals in his first season as a head coach, and the first since Nick Nurse in 2019.
He also became the first rookie coach to win multiple Game 7s in his first postseason, according to an ESPN Stats & Information study. Udoka beat Boston to the Eastern He went to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Semifinals and the East to Miami in the Finals. lost to the Warriors.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
