When the Houston Rockets hired former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka to replace Stephen Silas in April 2023, he had a clear and concise message for the young players on his team. At the time, they had only 23 seasons of combined NBA service.
Most members of his core group were at or near 21 years old, the minimum legal age to purchase an alcoholic beverage in the United States.
“Youth is not an excuse,” Udoka said when asked about his developmental plan for his young players. “Understanding that we’re going to take some lumps with our age and our youth, but my message to them will be that’s not an excuse. You’ve been in the league. You’ve been taught. That’s my job, to teach them... and expedite that process. Understanding that (while also) having some patience with that.”
On Wednesday, Udoka’s patience paid off as he guided his team to a 143-105 victory over the Utah Jazz. That blowout victory clinched a playoff berth for the Rockets, the first for the franchise since the 2019-20 season. With their 50th win, the Rockets also won the Southwest Division title and moved another step closer to securing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference standings.
After finishing three straight seasons with fewer than 25 wins before Udoka’s arrival, it was his job to convey the message that the Rockets had the talent to compete. They just needed to learn how to do it consistently.
In his first season, the message resonated, as Houston improved from 22-60 in 2022-23 to 41-41 in 2023-24. That .500 record had them at No. 11 in the West, just one spot outside the 10-team postseason field. With a precedent set, the players bought in on their coach’s philosophy.
“Our whole motto is to just ‘be dogs,’ take the court and be as physical as possible, but also connecting,” reserve forward Jae’Sean Tate told Rockets Wire regarding Udoka’s initial message to the team.
“That is hard not to get behind,” added Tate, the lone member of the current team who was also around at the start of the rebuild in 2020-21. “Just giving effort, and when you play the game at this level, you need to give that. So, it was very easy as a team to get behind that.”
“Our whole motto is to just ‘Be Dogs,’ take the court and be as physical as possible, but also connecting,” said reserve forward Jae’Sean Tate exclusively to Rockets Wire about Udoka’s message from the first meeting. #Rockets#Sarge@TheRocketsWirepic.twitter.com/pQ7GFpbHuE
— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) April 3, 2025
Houston won’t have long to celebrate their milestone, as their remaining five games of the ...
