BOSTON, MA – Celtics Head Coach Ime Udoka has been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the combined months of March and April, the NBA announced today. It is the second time in Udoka’s career he has captured the monthly honor (February, 2022).
Under Udoka’s guidance, the Celtics closed out their final 19 games with a 15-4 record, the best mark throughout the NBA since the start of March. Boston went 10-4 during that stretch against 2022 postseason qualifiers and led the NBA in net rating (+14.0) and offensive rating (123.4) during that stretch.
The Celtics finished the final month-plus of the season with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA (109.4), holding opponents under 100 points on six occasions.
Boston wrapped up the 2021-22 NBA season with a 51-31 record, clinching the second seed in the Eastern Conference. It is the team’s first 50-win season since 2017-18, and marked just the third time in franchise history that a rookie head coach reached the 50-win mark.
This marks the second career Coach of the Month honor for Udoka, who also captured the award in February. He is the first Celtics coach to receive the award consecutive times since Doc Rivers in 2008.