Boston Celtics coach Amy Odoka will likely face suspension throughout the 2022-23 season for his role in an intimate relationship with a member of the franchise crew, sources told ESPN Thursday.
The relationship is a violation of the organization’s guidelines, and Udoka’s proposed punishment is largely unprecedented for a head coach in the NBA. An official announcement is expected on Thursday.
Sources told ESPN that assistant coach Joe Mazzola is likely to become Boston’s interim coach for this season.
Odoka’s assistant coach Will Hardy left the team in June to become the Utah Jazz coach.
Odoka joined the Celtics last summer after spending time with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach after his NBA career.
Replaced Brad Stevens as coach. Stevens went upstairs to be Boston’s chief of basketball operations after his predecessor in the position, Danny Inge, chose to leave the organization.
In his first season as coach, Odoka oversaw a remarkable turnaround in Boston, which saw the Celtics turn from under 0.500 in late January to finish the season with a record 28-7 in their last 35 games. They then composed an impressive run through the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years.
Odoka is the fifth coach in the past 25 years to reach the NBA Finals in his first season as a first coach and the first since Nick Norse in 2019.
He also, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, became the first junior coach to win multiple Game 7s in his first season. Odoka led the Boston team to victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Miami Heat finals in seven games before losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
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