Houston's Ime Udoka finishes third for 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year
One year ago, the Houston Rockets were 41-41 and No. 11 in the Western Conference standings. In the 2024-25 season, they finished at 52-30 while securing the No. 2 seed.
That type of year-on-year improvement drew attention around the league, and it made Ime Udoka one of three finalists for the NBA's 2024-25 Coach of the Year Award. Other finalists are Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson and Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff.
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Alas, it's Atkinson — after guiding the Cavaliers from 48-34 in 2023-24 to a 64-18 and the best record in the Eastern Conferece this season — who was the ultimate winner. Like Udoka and the Rockets, Cleveland didn't have significant roster turnover in the preceding offseason, which would seemingly make the year-on-year growth a greater reflection of coaching and development.
Out of 100 voters, Udoka finished in third place with seven first-place votes, 13 second-place votes, and 39 third-place votes (113 total points). Atkinson had 59 first-place votes, 33- second-place votes, and seven third-place votes (401 total points).
Atkinson and the Cavaliers are still playing in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, while Udoka and the Rockets were recently eliminated after a tough first-round series in the West against the Golden State Warriors. However, because votes were taken after the regular season, playoff results were not factored in.
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Bickerstaff finished just ahead of Udoka in second place, while those immediately behind Udoka included Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder; Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers; and JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers.
For Udoka and the Rockets, it's an honor to be listed among those elite coaches, and it reflects the significant progress made during year two of his stint leading the Rockets.
'He should definitely be Coach of the Year,' veteran guard Fred VanVleet said recently of Udoka. 'I don't know how many people are talking about that, but to take this group from where we were two years ago to where we are today... one thousand percent, he should be Coach of the Year.'
In the 2022-23 season immediately preceding Udoka's April 2023 hiring, the Rockets were 22-60 and finished in last place in the West. VanVleet and fellow veterans Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green then signed with Houston that offseason.
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Much of the success for Udoka's Rockets is due to their top-five defense, and second-year guard/forward Amen Thompson appears likely to earn All-Defensive First Team honors in the coming weeks. All of the league's annual awards are voted on by a diverse media panel representing in-market, national, and international voices who follow and cover the NBA.
While the macro of the 2024-25 season for the Rockets was clearly positive, considering their performance relative to expectations and recent seasons, the micro ended with a bitter playoff loss to a rival. Udoka said after Sunday's Game 7 loss that he wants everyone in the organization to use that as fuel for 2025-26, including the coaching staff.
'We said no moral victories, or whatever,' Udoka concluded. 'We had our chances in this series. It's going to sting now, but use it as motivation. The growth that you've showed and learned this year, let's all come back better, coaches included.'
'That was the message: 'Don't be satisfied.' The experience is out of the way. Everybody will take it, look internally, and see how we can all improve. Come back better, not settle for making the playoffs, and advance.'
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More: 'Head of the snake': Jalen Green credits Ime Udoka for building Houston's culture
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Houston's Ime Udoka finishes third for 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year
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