A famous assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is known for Ime Udoka. Moreover, he is also a former professional basketball player who began his professional basketball career by playing in the NBDL with the Charleston Lowgators who drafted him with 39th overall pick in the 2002 NBDL Draft. He previously played for the Spurs for three seasons as a small forward. He also played internationally for the Nigerian basketball team and helped them win bronze medals at the 2005 and 2011 FIBA Africa Championships in Algeria and Madagascar. His jersey number/shirt number was 5, 8, 3. He was also honored with the ‘Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award’ in 2006 as a player. In June 2019, he was hired as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Ime Udoka is wild-card Knicks candidate outside of ‘Recycled Coaches Association’
Recently, Knicks owner James Dolan passed on one Nigerian basketball brain in Masai Ujiri to be president. Some feel Dolan should take a harder look at a Nigerian-American in Ime Udoka to be the head coach. Tim Shea, the former Knicks director of international scouting and assistant Olympic coach for Nigeria, says hiring Udoka would be a progressive move the club could use. Udoka, the former longtime Spurs player and assistant in his first season with the Sixers, is one of 10 Knicks coaching candidates not named Tom Thibodeau, the clear-cut favorite. Shea and Dozie Mbonu, GM of the Nigerian National team, have staged several conversations about how Udoka deserves to be an NBA head coach in these changing times. The NBA started the 2019-20 season with just eight Black head coaches. Moreover, Udoka is the brother-in-law of Knicks scout Makhtar Ndiaye, who was recently named GM of the Senegal National Team.
Famous For
- Being an assistant coach for Philadelphia 76ers.
- For his contribution to the game of basketball.
- For representing the Nigerian national basketball team during his playing career.
Source: @blazersedge.com
What is the birthplace of Ime Udoka?
On 9th August 1977, Ime Udoka was born in Portland, Oregon, the USA. His nationality is American-Nigerian and his ethnicity is Mixed. His race is Black. As of 2019, he celebrated his 42nd birthday. His birth name/real name is Ime Sunday Udoka. He was born to his parents; Vitalis Udoka (father) and his mother. Udoka’s father, who is of Akwa Ibom descent, was born in Nigeria, which qualified him for Nigerian citizenship. His mother, who died in late 2011, was an American from Illinois. His older sister Mfon used to play in the WNBA. His Zodiac sign is Leo and his religion is Christian. As of his education, he attended Jefferson High School and later attended San Francisco and Portland State for college.
How Ime Udoka began his basketball career?
- Ime Udoka’s career started from his high school. He was a small forward, attended Portland’s Jefferson High School, and the University of San Francisco, before transferring to Portland State University where he starred for the Vikings.
- With the Charleston Lowgators team, he began his career in the NBDL league. He was drafted with 39th overall pick in 2002 NBDL Draft.
- furthermore, he was called up to play with the Los Angeles Lakers on January 14, 2004, but was later waived.
- He returned to the states and once again drafted in NBDL in Europe where he was drafted 3rd overall by Fort Worth Flyers in 2005 NBDL Draft.
- For the team, he averaged 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
- After that, he was signed by the New York Knicks on 6th April 2006 and later waived on 11th September 2006.
- Moreover, he was the last player invited to his hometown Portland Trail Blazers training camp before the 2006-2007 season, getting the invitation-only after Aaron Miles failed a physical.
- He played 75 games in the 2006-2007 season.
- He played 28.6 minutes per game while averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals.
- Later, he was signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs in the year 2007 where he played in 73 games averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18 minutes.
- He played in 67 games in the second season and started in three where e averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.4 minutes.
- He then became a free agent, eventually re-signing with the Trail Blazers in 2009 season where he was waived by the Blazers on 22nd October 2009. But he was signed with the Sacramento Kings on 4th November 2009 where he played 69 games with the Kings, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.7 minutes.
- He again rejoined the Spurs on 24th November 2010 and later waived on 5th January 2011. For the team, he played 20 games.
- He then signed with the New Jersey Nets on 15th December 2011 and later waived on 23rd December 2011.
- He also signed with UCAM Murcia of the Spanish Liga ACB in early 2012.
- He joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach in August 2012 where he would win his first championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals 4-1.
- Furthermore, he was also the key to LaMarcus Aldridge’s decision to join the Spurs in 2015. Both Udoka and Aldridge played together with the Trail Blazers during Aldridge’s rookie season.
- He was hired as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in June 2019.
- Additionally, he was a member of the Nigerian national team, for whom he played at the 2006 FIBA World Championships.
Career highlights and awards
As player:
- Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award (2006)
As an assistant coach:
Who is Ime Udoka Engaged to?
Source: @essence.com
Ime Udoka is not married yet and he is still to get married. But he is engaged at present with his long-time girlfriend Nia Long. There are not any ups downs in his personal life. Since 2010, the duo is dating each other. In November 2011, Udoka’s girlfriend, Nia Long gave birth to their first child, Kez Sunday Udoka. The couple became engaged in May 2015. Long has another son from her previous relationship with Massai Dorsey. Despite this, there is no problem with Ime Udoka. Their relationship is going stronger with the passage of time. They both are busy in their career. They have not decided to get married. Their relationship is depending on mutual trust and understanding. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay.
What is the Net Worth of Ime Udoka?
Ime Udoka is a famous assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Prior to this, he is a former basketball player. With his career in the sports field (basketball), he has accumulated a huge amount of money until now. His salary has helped him to maintain a pretty amount of bank balance. As of 2020, the net worth of Ime Udoka is believed to have $11.5 Million whereas his salary as a player was $3.9 million previously. At present, his salary is still to get unfold yet. His major source of earning is from a coaching career. At present, he is satisfied with his earnings and he is living a luxurious lifestyle from the earnings he made.
How tall is Ime Udoka?
Ime Udoka is a very handsome and cool person with a charming personality attracting a lot of people towards him. With an athletic body build, he has got a tall height of 2.01 m or 6 ft 7 in. His balanced body weight consists of 215 lb or 98 Kg. His eye color is brown and he has got a very tiny black hair. He has got well-maintained body measurements. Overall, he has got a healthy body at present.
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