Chip Engelland is already back in the gym with the Rockets, and Ime Udoka isn’t hiding how much he values the move.
Houston’s new assistant has begun working with players at the team’s primary practice facility, with training camp for the NBA’s 2026-27 season set to open later this month. That gives young Rockets such as Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard an early chance to get reps with the coach long known around the league as the “ shot doctor ”.
Udoka spoke publicly about Engelland for the first time on Friday, Sept. 11, during a community service event in Houston, and the message was simple: this is someone he knows well and trusts completely.
He’s a guy I go back 20 years with, when I was in San Antonio. I always joke with him that I wasn’t big time enough for him to help me with my jump shot.
He was always busy with Tony Parker and Kawhi (Leonard) and everybody. But he’s a guy I’ve been around as both a player and as a coach.
The connection runs deeper than just familiarity. Udoka pointed out that Garrett Jackson, Ben Sullivan and Cam Hodges - all current Rockets assistants - came up under Engelland, so his arrival also brings a familiar mentor figure back into the building.
Obviously Garrett Jackson, Ben Sullivan, Cam Hodges (current Rockets assistants), all those guys came up under him. It’s kind of having the mentor back in the building for those guys.
For Udoka, the fit is about more than nostalgia. He said Houston’s staff has already done solid work with the team’s players, and Engelland’s presence adds another layer, especially when it comes to shooting.
They’ve done a great job with our guys, and just to have the master at what he does in the building has been good for us. He’s enthused to be back with some guys who are familiar faces, and to get to know the young guys. I think he’ll obviously be a benefit for our guys in the shooting aspect.
That addition is notable because when Houston’s 2025-26 season ended in May, Udoka said he did not expect changes to his coaching staff over the offseason. But Engelland’s availability - he was coaching in the playoffs with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the time - appears to have shifted things.
The Rockets clearly believe the relationship matters. Udoka knows Engelland from their Spurs days, and the hope in Houston is that the partnership picks up exactly where it left off.
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