Steven Senne / AP
Ime Udoka pictured on June 16, 2022 during the NBA Finals against the Warriors.
NBA – Even before the start of the season, the NBA was hit by a first earthquake. Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka has been suspended for a year by his franchise. The reason ? He had an extra-marital affair with a member of his staff, thus violating the “house rules” of the team.
The management of the Celtics itself announced this Friday, September 23 in a press release. ” The decision regarding his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date. “, is it also specified.
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— Boston Celtics (@celtics)
In the meantime, it is his first assistant Joe Mazzulla, who will take his place for this 2022-2023 exercise. Under the leadership of Ime Udoka last year, the Celtics had climbed for the first time since 2010 in the NBA finals, but lost to the Warriors.
« I want to apologize to our players, the fans, the entire Celtics organization and my family for letting them down.reacted the respondent. I’m sorry to put the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comments.. »
The punishment, one of the toughest ever imposed on an NBA head coach, comes as the Celtics’ preseason training camp is set to begin next week. Ime Udoka passed through San Antonio, Philadelphia and Brooklyn as an assistant coach before taking the reins of the most successful franchise in NBA history (tied with the Los Angeles Lakers) in June 2021.
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