After guiding Houston to the NBA play-offs, what are Ime Udoka's ambitions?

For the first time since 2019, Houston have reached at least 50 wins in the regular season (51 after thrashing the Warriors 106-96 in the early hours of Monday). More importantly, the Rockets are back in the NBA play-offs for the first time since 2020, when the Texas franchise had a superstar named James Harden. Today, the squad is full of young players who are inexperienced, admittedly, but hungry, and who can above all rely on an architect capable of taking them very far: Ime Udoka.

The Nigerian coach knows how to get the best out of his players. Houston, a leaky side in recent years, had already shown great promise last year, narrowly missing out on the play-offs. This season, Udoka kept the same group and built on that, creating an aggressive team with huge defensive intensity and fearsome transitions to make the difference on offence. The Rockets have gone from the 3rd worst defence to the 45th this season.

Can he repeat the Boston trick?

In his 2nd spell as an NBA head coach (the first began in 2021), Ime Udoka is receiving praise from all sides. The Nigerian had already impressed in his first season at Boston (2021-2022), delivering a regular-season record of 51 wins and 31 defeats before leading the Celtics to the NBA Finals against Golden State. Caught up the following season by off-court issues, he unfortunately was unable to coach, before joining Houston in the summer of 2023.

With a young team blessed with incredible potential (lperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks), Houston are causing problems for everybody. And with Ime Udoka at the top of his game as a manager, the Rockets could well go a long way in the play-offs. Houston are a side to be wary of…

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