S1E10: Ime Udoka

but it's starting out here. I just want to know, like, what what makes you tick as both a human being and as a coach. What makes you tick on a daily basis? I would say competition, That's a pretty easy answer. But I grew up watching Clyde Drexler and I started playing basketball because then Portland and the genuine joy i'd say of being in the gym is the same now as it was when I was a ten year old. You know, going to practice, are going to play, and

so that's what it's about. You know, it's really pushed by the competitive side. But you know, that would be the simple answer. Competition, and you know, I'd like to push myself as far as that, but just the joy of basketball, it's who I am. It's what I've always been and what I look forward to every day. Clyde the Glide, I love it. We're throwing it back to Clyde Drexel when in your life you mentioned ten years old is the number that you just threw out there.

But when did you start to become this basketball guy, this guy who was addicted to getting out on the court and competing the way that you have ever since? I would probably say twelve thirteen. You know, I played all sports growing up, but basketball was the love. I may have been naturally better and some others baseball and football, but basketball is when I gravitated to and stopped playing

everything else after my freshman year high school. So it was full time because even when I was playing football or baseball, I would go play basketball anyway and so focused on that. I kind of always had a one track mind as far as goals planning, a only no no backup plan, and so I put all my marvels into basketball and making it. You know, it was a late bloomer coming up, but kept grinding my way, and I've done the same thing as a player and a coach.

So I would say at that young age of twelve fourteen, I really got into it and always had a goal oriented mind went after basketball. It seems like you made the right decision. I mean, here here you are, all these years later, head coach of the Boston Celtics. Congratulations, by the way, a great opportunity for you. This podcast is called You from the Raptors, behind the scenes with the Boston Celtics. So let's go behind the scenes a little bit right now. When did Brad first contact you

about this opening? What was your opening conversation? And I know that you mentioned in your press conference that you just felt something there, like a chemistry right from the get go. So take me into those opening moments of you guys forming a relationship. I would say it was early on in the Milwaukee series. You know, we had just played Boston in previous round, and the announcement surprise everybody you know, quite honestly, and surprised me too. Yeah.

I sat down after we lost the game. I'm okay, it's seasons over. We can take a breather. Next morning we wake up to chaos. Okay. So obviously, when that opening happened, as a coach who was named being floated out there and knew other people were going to reach out, the fact that they reached out, I was obviously tremendously honored.

And we had a few early conversations in the Milwaukee series and just kind of went from there where one zoom led to another, and you know, before Game seven against Milwaukee, Rad reach out and said, you know, we want to come down in person in Ork, regardless of results. So obviously we planned on beating Milwaukee and you know, me being there and meeting with him the next day. But I went the other way, and but it also helped me move forward and you know, shift my focus

to that. And like I said, the zoom conversations led to great in person interviews and there was a natural chemistry there from from the get go. I've always wondered this because I know, and we're around you guys all the time. We know how hard you guys work as coaches. It's like seven job. It's that the button has never turned off. Even when you're sleeping, you're thinking about basketball, right, So how how do you interview for a job like this while you're coaching in a series Like I just

don't understand how someone can balance that much. You learn to balance it because honestly, we're looking towards forward to the next series. So as we're playing Milwaukee or playing Boston, we're prepping for the next series anyway. So it's something that you have to learn to do multitask and obviously now being the head coach, you have even more on your place, so you have to learn to balance all those things. But you know, like I said, my focus

was beating Milwaukee and talking to Boston. That's it. There were other people calling, inquiring and those are two things I focused on, and so it's just so then you learned to do Obviously, focusing on Milwaukee. Brooklyn was great, Shawn Marks is great, and you know, Steve and those guys letting me talk to Brad and those guys because some people would, you know, deny that until you're done

with the playoffs. And so Rouston, like I said, called and I was thrilled about that call through to get that call, and it moved on pretty quickly from there, and you touched down the chemistry. I want to go back to that a little bit. At what point, because you've gone through this process a few times before, you mentioned it before, if you could have known a couple of years ago that this is where you were gonna land.

You would have taken that all day, every day. But when in the process, with this chemistry and the spark between you and the Celtics, did you know this was going to be the one? I felt great from the first conversation, and like I mentioned, we had that we had a zoom early and leaving that, I've had enough interviews to kind of feel the vibe right away, and I felt that with Brad natural you know, alignment and the way we talked, the way we thought about the game,

and the direction we saw the team going. And so from there I felt good about it, and you know, it was a matter of going through the next steps of the process. So, like I said, I've been three or so years now interviewing and you kind of know right away, And this was the strongest feeling out of any of the interviews I've had so far. And so since the announcement, you know, we've all done our research on you. We figured figured out who you are as

a person, at least just from reading about you. Authenticity comes up all the time, hard worker comes up all the time, Relationships comes up all the time. Talk to me about these three aspects and when they started to really come into form for you as a person and as a coach, and how those come through in your coaching style. Well, I'd say the work ethic piece has always been there. I mentioned, you know, my love for the game when falling in love at a young age,

but I was a late bloomer. I went to junior college route initially, so not a highly heralded player, and I had to continue to grind and chase certain goals, and so that work ethic was always They're kind of instilled by my parents, and so that's always gonna be who I am like underneath everything. As far as the

relationship piece, it's it's just being authentic. And you know, I respect the coaches that were always honest with me, and that's one thing I loved about Pop when I played for him and watching him as a coach a colleague as well. He's honest with us too, is the media, but there are misconceptions that, yeah, he gives off a little more gruff than than he really is a big teddy bear. But in general, that authenticity piece is what I enjoyed as layer. I wanted someone to be a

straight shooter with me. Be a coach, whether it was a coach or another player, And so I always remember certain things that happened throughout my career where I could have helped somebody and maybe I didn't. So I started to take that and moving forward in my coaching career, like I'll always you know, whether they like it or not, they want to hear the truth and they have to respect that. So those are just some aspects of who I am, and like I said, you can only be

who you are, not trying to be somebody else. Those things come natural to me and I think they've been beneficial in getting me where I'm where I'm at now. The authenticity part I really want to talk about because he would think maybe outsiders who aren't inside the NBA, they might think that everyone is authentic, but it's not really that way, Like why do you think it sometimes as a challenge for people to be authentic to who they are their core while working in this league and

playing in this league. Yeah, I mean, some people just don't like to be an uncomfortable situations. And if you're okay with that, then you know it comes easier to you. And so it's not always bad to be uncomfortable, and we've gone through that every year in my career, whether they'd be a player or a coach, And I think it helps you grow as a team, and it helps you grow personally. And some people don't like the confrontation,

but I think there's healthy aspects to that. That's just who I am, and it's something that, like I said, luckily, has come natural to me where I don't mind that, and the players and other coaches I've worked with kind of reciprocate that. And I think everyone here is gonna love that for sure. We love authenticity. So relationships that come from that authenticity. I mean you name a big name,

you've been around them. I mean all of the guys in San Antonio with Kauai, Duncan, Genobileie Parker, Uh, you go over to Philadelphi, You've got him, beat and Simmons, and then this year with Katie and Kyrie and Harden. How do you connect and established relationships with players of that stature, because that is not always easy in this league.

I would saying, being honest, you know first and foremost, um, you know, one of the things like I'll give you a story about Joel when I first got to Philadelphia. You know, I would watch him and shoot arounds and he's kind of all over the place doing this thing, and I'm like, if you just focus in, be more professional, you're gonna take this next jump. You know, That's something that nobody had ever told him, you know, kind of let him do what he wanted at times and appease

him in a certain way. And I was like, no, but if you want to get to the next level, And I gave him an example of Tim who was the ultimate professional, where if you were playing Sacramento or Minnesota, he's gonna get his three and thirteen, but when you played the big boys, he's getting thirty and fifteen. And so I mentioned that to Joel, like you need to elevate yourself to that level of professionalism every day. And so just being honest with him there and then even

to some extent this year in Brooklyn. Steve has a pretty laidback personality. Mike D'Antoni as well. At times, Kevin, Kyrie and James would come to me like, coaches hard, we need this, and so they want that honest honesty. And I played against some of these guys as well, so you know, we got funny stories from back then. But they know who I was as a player and they know they want me to be the same way as a coach, and so that was our pretty natural

going into Brooklyn as well. Talk about that and kind of your relationships with the guys here in Boston that you coached with Team USA. I mean, how have they asked you to push them when you when you've been coaching them, and what are some of the relationships that you've formed with them. It's been good. The one thing I'd say, like the Select Team was before the USA and Marcus stood out to me initially, and and we had a bunch of young guys, but he was the

guy who wasn't scared of the big boy. Hey, he's not scared of anyone. That stood out to me. And I told him that from day one, whether it was three or four years ago with the Select Team, I said, your leadership and toughness, you're the one guy other guys that might be looking at Katie and whoever it may be and kind of powering down a little bit. And he was the guy going right at him. So I

appreciate that and I think we connected on that. But then, um, you know, talking to Jason and Jalen this past summer as well, especially when some guys got injured, Jason being one of them, and Jalen really celevated his level as well. So just having those conversations and telling what we needed and what I see in him from an outsider's perspective,

you know great now. So I'm always telling them the perception of you outside of your own organization in the league is at a certain level, and to hold yourself to a standard. So we just connected on those conversations among other personal things off the court. That's been great and I think it'll only grow going forward. And they've been excited about me coming and likewise, I'm thrilled to work with these guys. This is a great opportunity for me to ask a question that I haven't been able

to ask anyone because no one's coming here. Who has coached against Marcus Smart? What's it like coaching against Marcus Smart? I mean, he's an irritant. He likes to get under people's skin. He's always making those game winning plays that not everyone has under the skin. What's it like coaching against that guy? It's unpredictable. Wouldn't be the right word, but it's a paying the ass. To be honest, you hate coach again against those guys, but you love having

him on your team. The things he brings the organization are invaluable, and I've talked to him about that and you see it on a daily basis. But some of the things he rubs off onto the guys is something that coaches can't teach. You need your some players, you know, to be hands on and do that as well. Can't always come from the coaches. He's going to bring that every night. That's who he is. And I'd say this with my son. You'd rather have somebody that you have

to pull back than actually push out there. And that's the perfect example of Marcus and what he brings. You might have to physically pull him back a couple of times. Like I said, he wants to be pushed like the rest of him and elevate his game, and I think I'll have a chance to do that this year. A little bit more about your background. You touched on the fact that you you didn't have the straightest path going

through college. You went to three different schools, You played in the D League at the time, you played in the NBA, you played overseas, you played in FIBA. To me, that just screams to me that you've seen it all, and that's really got to help with the base that you have set to to step into this position. How has that road placed you here and made you into

the coach that you are today? Just help shape me quite honestly, Um every situation, let alone the fact that I had to grind behind the scenes all the time. So although I was in the G League or in Spain one year, it wasn't where where heart was at. I wanted to get back to the NBA, and so I was constantly trying to grow in and not be content or complacent in any place I've been. And so I carry that into coaching as well. You know, I

got to the NBA not just to get there. I got there to do well and make it, and I took that into coaching. I don't just want to be an assistant coach and be comfortable in San Antonio for seven years. I wanted to take myself outside of that and, like I said, have some of those uncomfortable situations. So one of the first things people said when I left San Antonio was like, why would he leave there. You know, seven years, you got the championship your first two years

one one. Why would he leave there? You've got the best coach of all time, blah blah blah. But I knew what I needed for my personal growth, and so I wanted to take myself outside of that. And like I mentioned, those two years in Philadelphia and Brooklyn have helped me take another jump in my coaching career. So all these experiences blend into one and and like my mind constantly goes back on different situations as a player and coach, and I felt like I've touched all the bases.

Like you mentioned, Yeah, you went through every single path that you could possibly go through to get here, which I think is just awesome. As I said, it had to have helped to to really shape who you are. Something else that shaped who you are is your your heritage. You'r of Nigerian descent, and I've met a few people of Nigerian descent throughout my life and they are so proud of where they come from and their family history.

Why is that? Talk to me about why people of Nigeria de center just so proud about who they are as people? You know, I'd say it was it's a proud country in general. I didn't really fully understand until I went there as a member of the Nigeria national team. Obviously, my father coming to American in the seventies ago to college, you know, you kind of watched an immigrant come over and and some of the struggles he had as I was growing up, so you understand that part of it.

But when I really went to Nigeria and you see, you get to Legos and you really see the struggle and millions of people upon on top of each other, and then you know, you really have the pride of while my father made it out of this, you know, it's it's everybody's goal to strive to achieve and and a lot of them are trying to get to you know, America to have a better life. And so to actually see them grinding every day, I think it subconsciously was who I was, you know, watching my father, and so

Nigerians are very prideful. For sure. You know, you got got one on the team here me and so I always touch based with my Nigerian the Nigerian players in the league and then always getting a shout out. But yeah, I got to see a firsthand when I was actually in the country, and so I kind of understand where I got it from. Who I am. What was the kind of like the shock value of when you got there, and like you said, you saw that with your own eyes. Just take me through that, like when you got off

the plane there for the first time. Just that in general, the amount of people, and you know, to make it out of that, you really have to have a strong work ethic and determination in general. But also I just remember waking up four in the morning looking at my hotel window and you just see people starting to flood the streets, you know, four in the morning, carrying something on their head, on motorcycle with you know, three baskets or whatever it may be. But it's an ongoing hustle

and struggle there. And so I started to appreciate that and really see where you know, my father came from and what he made it out of and made it through. That's what I appreciate it. That's the moment I really, you know, and it was literally I would sit in my window from four to six in the morning and just watch it grow with thousands of people and just wondering where they're all going, what they're doing and so

that work ethic and kind of determination is field of me. Well, I gotta tell you, just having the short conversation, I know it's been fun for me to get to know you a little bit. I know our fans are gonna think the same thing, and we're very pleased to have you here. Congratulations, and we're looking to learn more about you as the years move forward. Thank you.