The Indiana Pacers actually come close to hiring Celtics HC Ime Udoka

The 2022 NBA Finals matchup has been set with the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics  fighting it out for the title, but it seems that the Indiana Pacers somehow find themselves at the receiving end of a subtle what-if.

Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, the first-year tactician who manned the sidelines for Boston as they reached the Finals for the first time in more than a decade at the expense of first-seeded Miami, recently bared that he nearly became a head coach earlier than this year, when Brad Stevens, now president of the Celtics, hired the player-turned-coach to succeed him.

The Indiana Pacers nearly hired Ime Udoka as their head coach

Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes revealed that Ime Udoka flirted with various head coaching jobs prior to getting hired by Boston, with the rookie coach including the Indiana Pacers among those that came close to giving him the role that was quite elusive for him before, ultimately finishing “second”.

The Pacers, of course, had two recent head coaching vacancies just recently, with one resulting in them landing Nate Bjorkgren, and the other leading them to another reunion with now-HC Rick Carlisle.

While being led by coach Carlisle is definitely something to pride on despite a pivot to rebuilding-charged losing campaign, the what-ifs associated with Udoka leading the pack for the Pacers is certainly interesting, as he managed to lead the Celtics to the Finals even after touting a losing record at the midseason point.

Perhaps the what-ifs roar louder if Udoka actually came second in the Pacers’ coaching search in the 2020 offseason, where Bjorkgren landed his first coaching job and fell well short of expectations before getting axed after a single campaign.

Back to the current timeline, getting to the NBA Finals in his rookie year must be well worth the wait for Ime Udoka, who spent seven seasons as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and a couple of single season campaigns in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.

For the Indiana Pacers, Rick Carlisle and co. have their work cut out for them with the 2022 NBA Draft just less than a month away and free agency looming for the franchise.