Ime Sunday Udoka is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, currently suspended by the team for the 2022–23 season. He represented the Nigeria national team during his playing career.
Ime Udoka Net Worth 2023
| Net Worth: | $10 Million |
| Salary: | $3 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Aug 9, 1977 (45 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Basketball player, Basketball Coach |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Early Life
Ime Udoka was born on 9th August 1977 in Nigeria to Agnes Udoka, a homemaker and Vitalis Udoka, an entrepreneur. He has an older sister, Mfon who played in the WNBA in the past. He graduated from Portland’s Jefferson High School before enrolling at the University of San Francisco. Udoka later changed colleges to Portland State University.
Personal Life
In February 2010, Udoka and Nia were set up on a date in Boston by a mutual friend. Nia is a well-known actress who gave birth to her son Massai ten years before she met Udoka from her previous relationship with Massai Z. Dorsey. Udoka and Nia Long started dating in 2010 and they had their son, Kez Sunday Udoka the following year as well as they got engaged in 2015.
Controversy
An ESPN report on September 21, 2022, came out alleging Ime Udoka violated a Boston Celtics organizational policy and stated that punishment was being planned. It was later revealed that Udoka had engaged in an intimate and improper relationship with a female staff member. The organization handed down a season-long suspension keeping him off the court for the 2022-23 season. Udoka issued an apology but refused to resign from his position.
Coaching
In August of 2012, Ime Udoka was hired as an assistant coach to Gregg Popovich on the San Antonio Spurs staff. Udoka won his first championship when the Spurs beat the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. In 2019, Udoka joined the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant head coach before the Brooklyn Nets hired him away for the same role in their organization.
Career
After going undrafted in the 2000 NBA Draft, Ime Udoka played for the IBA’s Fargo-Moorhead Beez from 2000-01 and Argentina’s Independiente in 2001. In 2002, he joined the NBA D-League with the North Charleston Lowgators, who took him with the 39th pick in the 2002 NBDL Draft. He made his NBA debut in 2003 with the Los Angeles Lakers, playing in four games with them. Over the next few years, he made multiple appearances in the D-League and overseas, before returning to the NBA when he joined the New York Knicks in the 2005-06 season. The following year he joined the Portland Trailblazers, where he started in 75 games and averaged 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In 2007, Udoka signed with the San Antonio Spurs and played in 140 games over two seasons, usually coming off the bench in a supporting role. In 2009-10, Udoka played with the Sacramento Kings; he returned to the Spurs in 2010-11, his final season in the NBA. He played one more year in 2012 as a member of UCAM Murcia.