“Good film study. I ain’t gon lie, it was a wrestling match. I looked over to the ref one time and he was like, ‘stop all that fuckin’ cryin.’ He was an OG, so he sounded like my uncle when he said it. I had to lock in real quick,” wrote Kevin Durant on X, recalling a time when Ime Udoka locked him on defense. The former NBA player turned head coach, known for his defensive prowess, displayed his skills efficiently against Durant once, reportedly back in 2009. Now, with Udoka serving as head coach for Durant after the latter’s shift to the Houston Rockets, a fan inquired about that incident. However, if you were to ask Udoka himself, he would deny the fan and Durant’s perspective.
Ime Udoka was on the sidelines during the recent NBA Summer League game between the Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons. During the same time, he was asked by the announcers if he had seen the clips circulating on the internet of him locking up Kevin Durant. Udoka, in an instant, replied that “I’ve never locked up Kevin Durant. Let’s start with that, but if he misses a shot, it probably has nothing to do with a 6-5 guy trying to contest him”.
The Rockets’ coach recalled Kevin Durant coming in as a rookie and the growth he kept having from year after year. After witnessing the same as a rival player, Ime Udoka also got to see it when he worked with Durant together on the Team USA squad, and previously when he served briefly as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets. Udoka hoped that, with any luck, all of that would rub off on the other Rockets players like Fred VanVleet.
Ime Udoka: “I’ve never locked up Kevin Durant. If he misses a shot it probably has nothing to do with a 6-5 guy trying to contest him”pic.twitter.com/eHTNaWzQao https://t.co/q8pgrY0Ryb
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) July 13, 2025
On the court, Kevin Durant and Ime Udoka competed in a total of 10 games, winning 5 each. With Udoka on defense, the offensive star managed to average only 9.6-19.9 (48.2%) field goals and 0.9-2.8 (32.1%) 3-pointers. The Nigerian-American later put Durant on the test as a rival team’s coach ,too. As NBA reporter Richard Pereira highlighted, the 2x NBA champion struggled during the 2022 first-round series between Udoka’s Boston Celtics and Durant’s Brooklyn Nets. Udoka’s defensive tactics were seen as Durant was just limited to shooting 38.6% from the field, including 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 89.5% from the free-throw line. Fortunately, over the years, Kevin Durant has gained nothing but respect for the defensive mindset held by the coach.
“He will go one possession regular, man. Next possession, zone. Go back to man. The next three possessions; zone,” said Durant about Ime Udoka on LeBron James’ ‘Mind the Game Podcast. “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.”
Therefore, the player would certainly be exhilarated he gets to work under the leadership of this same person who gave him worry in the earlier days.
This is a developing story.
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