Ime Udoka is getting what few new head coaches get with their players.
A head start.
As photos and video emerge from Team USA’s Las Vegas training camp this week, it’s hard not to stop and focus on the image of Jayson Tatum and his new head coach laughing together on the floor.
Much like Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart getting an early chance to bond with Kemba Walker two summers ago during the FIBA World Cup of Basketball, this is a chance for Tatum and Udoka to build on their relationship ahead of the opening of Boston’s own training camp in a few months.
Coaches hired in the offseason are often reduced to text messages and FaceTime conversations to say their first hellos. Udoka, who was also on Team USA’s staff for that World Cup run, now has actual face time with his young superstar, and weeks of opportunities to relay his vision for the team.
“From the conversations I've had with him since he's got the job, I can just tell he's really, really excited,” Tatum said in his first Team USA media availability. “It's going to be fun and we're going to try to accomplish something big."
Accomplishing something big in the NBA requires your best players buying into whatever the plan is. Are they going to be a defense-first team? Will they play up-tempo, or walk it up? Whatever Udoka feels like is the best approach will require Tatum and Brown to be fully on board. This rare opportunity for Udoka to get Tatum fully on board simply can’t be missed.
But this goes beyond just selling Tatum on the plan. This is about connecting on a deeper level.
“People overemphasize the O’s and X’s,” Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Coaches know the O’s and X’s. Everybody knows basketball. It's not analytical geometry or something like that. That stuff's not tough. But to understand how to get the most out of people, to develop relationships with players, to make people accountable, and make them want to play for you are really the keys and he's got all that.”
And this is where Udoka’s real opportunity lies with Team USA.
Tatum isn’t the only player working with Udoka. He has a turn with everyone in camp at some point. While Brad Stevens has an association with USA Basketball from his college days, he never had the chance to coach with the Men’s National Team, so he never had this kind of opportunity to project what a Boston Celtics culture could look like.
Udoka will have a captive audience of NBA players watching and working with him. They will have the opportunity to compare and contrast Udoka’s coaching style with the coaches on their own teams. He will have a chance to impress people by just being himself, connecting with the guys to help them find improvements in their games and sharing in the joy should they win a gold medal.
There’s nothing like the memory of celebrating a gold medal to help connect players and coaches. For some of these guys on the roster, the gold is the only championship they’ll win. The pursuit of NBA gold could drive players with decisions to make towards one of the coaches he’s won something with.
Maybe that’s a free agent. Maybe that’s a trade. Maybe it’s a ring-chaser willing to sign for the minimum in the waning years of his career. It might even be a member of the select team who has been watching from afar, impressed with what he’s seen, who needs a fresh start somewhere later on.
Whatever the situation, Udoka finds himself in a prime position to influence Boston’s future with his time on Team USA. He’s not going to outright tamper with anyone, but he can do it subtly just by building the relationships the way he’s been known to. All it takes is a connection.
That connection led to Tatum, Brown, and Smart endorsing his hiring. It's a connection that could jumpstart the Celtics' next steps, and maybe even sway a missing piece down the road. If he’s as good at this as people say, this summer could have a long-term impact on his new team.