Ime Udoka doesn’t mince words. He never has.
And if you’ve been following his tenure with the Houston Rockets, you know that when he speaks-especially when it comes to defending his team-he means every word. No filters, no fluff.
Just straight, unvarnished truth.
That was on full display again after the Rockets’ recent heartbreaker against the Denver Nuggets on December 15. A game that had all the makings of a classic-physical, gritty, and tight until the final buzzer-ended not with a game-winning shot, but with a whistle. A controversial one at that.
Let’s set the scene. The Rockets were up 117-116.
Just two seconds left. Denver inbounded the ball, and suddenly, the whistle blew.
A foul on Amen Thompson, called as he contested Tim Hardaway Jr. The kind of call that makes you pause and rewind the tape.
And then rewind it again. Depending on the camera angle, you might see contact-or you might see nothing at all.
And when that’s the case, it usually means the call is… questionable at best.
Denver made the free throw, forced overtime, and eventually walked away with the win. But the story didn’t end there.
Postgame, Udoka didn’t hold back. He called it “the most poorly officiated game he had seen in a long time.”
He questioned whether two of the referees should’ve even been on the floor. And he didn’t stop there-he said the crew chief looked “star struck,” a not-so-subtle jab at what he perceived as bias in favor of Denver’s stars.
Now, coaches venting about officiating isn’t new. But this wasn’t just frustration.
This was a coach going to bat for his players-again. And not just in private, but publicly, with full awareness that a fine was likely coming.
And it did. The NBA handed down a $25,000 fine the next day.
But that same day, the league also released its Last Two Minute Report, which confirmed what Udoka and the Rockets were already feeling: the call on Thompson was incorrect. And it wasn’t the only one.
Two other missed calls in the final moments also went against Houston.
So, let’s be real. The Rockets didn’t just lose a game-they lost it on officiating errors that the league later admitted.
And their head coach, instead of biting his tongue, spoke up. Loudly.
This isn’t the first time Udoka has gone to war with the officials on behalf of his team. Remember when he got tossed for telling LeBron James to “stop bitching” about the calls?
That moment wasn’t just about LeBron or the refs-it was about sending a message to his young Rockets squad: I’ve got your back. No matter who we’re up against.
Most of those players were still on rookie deals at the time. They weren’t about to risk fines themselves.
But Udoka? He took the hit.
And the locker room noticed.
Fast forward to now, and nothing’s changed. The stakes are higher, the games are tighter, and the Rockets are growing into a team that expects to compete.
And once again, Udoka is setting the tone. He’s not just coaching X’s and O’s-he’s building a culture.
One where players know their coach won’t let them stand alone when things get rough.
So yeah, $25,000 is a fine. But for a coach making $11 million a year, it’s not about the money.
It’s about the message. And the message is clear: this team is unified, from the bench to the floor.
When the Rockets feel wronged, their coach won’t just nod and move on-he’ll speak up, even if it costs him.
That kind of leadership resonates. Especially with a young team still finding its identity in a loaded Western Conference.
They’re learning that their coach isn’t just in their corner-he’s leading the charge. And that, more than any fine or missed call, might be what sticks with this team as it continues to grow.