Joe Mazzulla is being rewarded for leading the Celtics to the best record in the NBA entering the All-Star break, putting Ime Udoka’s future with the franchise further in doubt.
The Celtics (42-17) took the interim title off of Mazzulla Thursday morning, officially making him the 19th head coach in team history and giving the 34-year-old a contract extension. Mazzulla was an assistant for Boston the previous three seasons.
Udoka, meanwhile, appears closer to being done with the organization, which suspended the 45-year-old for the entire 2022-23 season over an improper relationship with a female staffer. Udoka had been in a relationship with actress Nia Long since 2010 and the two share a son. Long alleged that the Celtics never reached out to her regarding Udoka’s affair.
Udoka has neither resigned or been fired, and it’s unclear what he or the Celtics ultimately want once the suspension ends on June 30, though it’s now cemented he will not be returning as the team’s head coach.
Joe Mazzulla has been named the full-time head coach of the Celtics. Getty Images
The Celtics suspended Ime Udoka for the entire 2022-23 NBA season. NBAE via Getty Images
The Nets were considering hiring Udoka, a former assistant for Brooklyn, as their head coach in November after firing Steve Nash seven games into the season, but there was backlash from women within BSE Global, the Nets’ parent company, along with public scrutiny. Brooklyn ended up naming Jacque Vaughn their head coach after he spent a brief time holding the position on an interim basis.
Udoka, a former player for the Spurs, Kings, Trail Blazers, Knicks and Lakers, was an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for seven seasons before joining the 76ers as an assistant in 2019. He jumped to Brooklyn after one year and was named Celtics head coach for the 2021-22 season, during which Boston lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Mazzulla was the head coach at Division II Fairmont State before joining the Celtics in 2019.