A notable name may have been doing some scouting during this week’s big NBA rivalry game.
The Clippers and Lakers faced off for their fourth and final meeting of the year on Wednesday night. It was the Clippers who won the game 125-118 (after leading by as many as 24 points) to clinch the season sweep of the Lakers and fortify their position in the top six of the Western Conference.
The matchup provided several intriguing storylines, including one somewhat unexpected one. Spotted in the stands during the game was former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka. Clippers writer Tomer Azarly shared video of Udoka sitting in the audience.
https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1643800742724276224
Udoka, who led the Celtics to a Finals appearance as a rookie head coach last season, fell out of favor in Boston over an inappropriate relationship with a team employee. The Celtics suspended him for the entire 2022-23 season and later proceeded to cut ties with Udoka altogether, naming Joe Mazzulla, who initially took over on an interim basis, as their permanent head coach.
It is worth noting that the Clippers are facing apparent uncertainty over the future of current coach Tyronn Lue. Recent rumors had suggested that Lue might potentially be in his final season coaching the team. The Lakers also have a head coach in Darvin Ham who has faced some turmoil this season (though Ham seems more likely to remain in his position at this point).
For Udoka, who is not even a native of L.A. and might have had something more to his presence on Wednesday night, any team that decides to hire him would obviously have to withstand a PR hit. But that may not stop them from trying, as Udoka has already drawn interest from multiple teams.
