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Ahead of a reunion with his former assistant coach during his time with the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets All-Star Kevin Durant commended his head coach, Ime Udoka. As the player and coach prepare for their reunion after the Phoenix Suns traded Durant to the Rockets this summer, Houston is now considered a title contender with Udoka leading the ship.
Udoka led one of the better defenses in the NBA last season, and it doesn't surprise Durant, considering Ime's versatile approach, which Kevin believes, pushes players to become better on the opposite end of the floor. Durant says it's what's made Udoka such an effective coach, per Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash and LeBron James.
“I see a lot of coaches being creative defensively, and that's pushing players to become better offensively,” Durant said. “Because when I'm working out, I'm thinking even the man defense is starting to look like a zone a little bit with so many gaps. If you can't shoot, for sure, they're going to be in a zone. If you got non-shooters on the floor, they're gonna, for sure, be loaded up in zone.”
Udoka constantly switches his team's defense, often keeping opposing teams guessing.
“He will go one possession regular, man. Next possession, zone. Go back to man. The next three possessions; zone,” Durant said. “All in the first quarter. I don't care how good you are as a team, how connected you are as a group, how well you pass, guys are unselfish, if a coach does that and you're not prepared for it, you're all off-balanced.”
Under the champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets finished with the second-best record (52-30) in the Western Conference, but were eliminated in a first-round, 4-3, upset against the Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Durant reflects Nets run ahead of making his Rockets debut
Rockets All-Star Kevin Durant reflected on playing for Steve Nash, whose Nets coaching staff Ime Udoka was a part of before eventually landing the head coaching gig with the Rockets. Durant says Nash had to deal with a lot of the outside noise that often distracted his Nets head coach.
“I feel like we were locked in on the same page and understand like well we trying to do something special here,” Durant said. “But I felt like your hands were tied a lot because you had to — as a coach you got to deal with so much.”
"I think we didn't get the full Steve Nash like I wanted."@KDTrey5 explains why Brooklyn didn’t workout the way it should’ve and more on Part 2 of a new episode. Watch on our YouTube, @PrimeVideo or listen wherever you get your podcasts https://t.co/n2swVHpna1 pic.twitter.com/Xl5Ne4MsAt
— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) July 8, 2025
The 2025-26 Rockets are likely Udoka's best chance to guide a team back to the NBA Finals for the first time since the Boston Celtics' run in 2022.
