When making a coaching change in professional sports, especially in the NBA, getting your star player’s stamp of approval is crucial.
And that’s exactly what All-Star Jayson Tatum gave for the hire of Ime Udoka.
In a recent interview with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Tatum voiced how happy he is with Udoka as his new coach.
“Extremely happy about Ime,” Tatum said. “I’ve known him for a little while. He’s extremely motivated and I think everybody has a good feeling about this.”
Tatum and Udoka’s relationship began with Team USA in year’s past as where Udoka serves as an assistant.
Jayson Tatum has a clear goal in mind: to become one of the all-time greats. https://t.co/F8nLvbsIoN
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 13, 2021
And though elated with the hire and gave his input, the All-Star stated that he and fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown never presented any demands. “They asked for our input and I know from my perspective, I gave input, but never, ‘You need to do this or you need to do that.'”
Udoka was an assistant under Steve Nash on the Brooklyn Nets staff this season. Prior to his job with the Nets, Udoka spent the first seven years of his coaching career under Gregg Popovich on the Spurs coaching staff before joining the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant in 2019-20.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
