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“Ime Udoka is the Celtics’ first black head coach”: NBA fans in disbelief after ESPN analyst praises Boston Celtics for appointing former Spurs assistant as their first African-American head coach

Amulya Shekhar
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"Ime Udoka is the Celtics' first black head coach": NBA fans in disbelief after ESPN analyst praises Boston Celtics for appointing former Spurs assistant as their first African-American head coach

It seems that ESPN is tearing itself apart, judging from how their analysts have bungled their jobs of late. Jay Williams was just the latest.

Williams posted a tweet congratulating Ime Udoka as the Celtics’ first black head coach in franchise history. It may not have passed his mind to cross-check his claim, but we ran the Google search that he didn’t bother to.

As it turns out, Bill Russell, KC Jones, Tom Sanders, ML Carr and Doc Rivers are the team’s first 5 black head coaches. As the #2 pick in an NBA draft, Williams really should be ashamed of not having the common sense of checking such a claim.

It seems the clown circus at ESPN is here to stay, judging from their obvious bias for big market teams. Michael Wilbon, Molly and Stephen A Smith have repeatedly made this amply clear.

Also Read: “Jrue Holiday makes me feel like a middle schooler”: TJ McConnell hilariously raves about the Bucks guard humbling him on defense

What impact will Ime Udoka have on the Boston Celtics?

Udoka hails from a Nigerian family of immigrants based in Portland, Oregon. During his playing days, he represented his native country in their international setup. Udoka was also an NBA player for the Lakers briefly in 2004.

Ime Udoka hails from the Spurs’ stable of head coaches. We’ve had several well-established coaches in the league emerging from this setup. Mike Budenholzer is just one of those many.

Udoka has been in the field as an assistant head coach for nearly a decade now. He’s also been appointed as one of the associate coaches for Team USA basketball in the past. His credentials as a coach are quite well-known and established across NBA front offices.

He was an assistant coach under Popovich for 7 years before moving to Brett Brown’s Sixers in 2019-20. He was soon lured away by Steve Nash and his brain trust at Brooklyn.

Udoka is tasked with an exciting challenge of building alongside 2 of the best young wing talents in the NBA. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are 2 of the most skilled two-way players in the league.

Both are capable of winning games with their effort on both ends of the floor. It goes without saying that Brad Stevens will need to bring in reinforcements for a squad in desperate need of upgrades across the board.

Also Read: “I think Kevin Durant is more gifted than Michael Jordan”: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gives huge props to the Brooklyn star, calling him a more gifted player than the GOAT

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

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Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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