Ime Udoka Confronts Suns Fan over ‘LeBron Owns You’ Heckle After Rockets’ Road Win in Phoenix

NBA: Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns - Source: Imagn
Ime Udoka gets heckled by a Phoenix Suns fan (Image Source: IMAGN)

Ime Udoka led the Houston Rockets to a dominant 114-92 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday. Following the contest, he had an interaction with a Suns fan on his way to the locker room. The fan heckled the coach, telling him that LA Lakers star LeBron James owns him.

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The Rockets were without Kevin Durant, who was listed as out due to a family matter. It was supposed to be Durant's first game back in Phoenix after he was traded over the summer. Houston still controlled the game's fate even without him.

As Udoka walked to the locker room, a heckler made two comments to the coach.

At first, the fall yelled:

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“LeBron owns you!”
Then, as Udoka approached him, the fan asked several times, “What happened in Boston?”
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The Rockets coach appeared to talk to the fan, but it's unclear what he said in the brief interaction. It's unclear what the fan meant when he brought up James to Udoka.

Udoka coached the Boston Celtics from 2021 to 2023 before taking over the Rockets. He led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022 but lost to the Golden State Warriors. In his second season with the franchise, he was suspended by Boston’s management for the entire campaign because he allegedly violated team policies.

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According to reports, Ime Udoka engaged in an improper intimate relationship with a female staff member. The suspension led to his eventual dismissal, and he was replaced by Joe Mazzulla, who led the team to the 2024 title. In April 2023, Houston hired Udoka.

In 2023, Udoka was hired as head coach at Houston after his time in Boston.


Ime Udoka had high praise for Dillon Brooks' success with the Suns

Over the summer, the Suns acquired Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green from the Rockets when they traded Kevin Durant. Without a star trio in Phoenix, it has opened up the floor for other players to step up and help star guard Devin Booker. One of the best performers this season is Brooks, who is averaging a career-high in points.

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The former Rockets forward is averaging 22.0 points through 11 games. He's been the Suns' second-best scorer. Against his former team, Brooks had 29 points on 50% shooting. Ime Udoka acknowledged his pride in his former player's performance following the game.

“Motivation. He’s having the freedom to do a lot of things, with some guys missing with Jalen (Green) specifically. Playing at an extremely high level, scoring and shooting it. Being extra aggressive. He’s going to bring that edge regardless on a nightly basis against everybody,” Udoka said about Brooks.
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The two even had an on-court interaction during the game where they seemed to talk trash to each other. But Ime Udoka said that the interaction is part of the game, and he doesn't mind it.

The next time the two teams will face each other will be on Dec. 5 at Toyota Center.

Phoenix Suns Fans? Check out the latest Suns depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.

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Edited by Reign Amurao
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