Celtics coach Ime Udoka had nearly as good of a first season as he could have asked for, reaching the NBA Finals before losing to the Warriors in six games.
Arguably the biggest reason for Boston’s midseason rise up the Eastern Conference standings and Finals run was Udoka’s coaching, which was built upon his relationships with the players. The Celtics’ young stars — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — were repetitively vocal in their support of Udoka, even when the team was struggling.
Following a rough Finals performance by Tatum, Udoka shared the encouraging message he gave the Celtics’ leading scorer for the offseason on Friday.