Ime Udoka Got Ejected For Being A Weird Asshole To LeBron James

6:52 PM EST on December 3, 2023

DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets watches as his team plays the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter at Ball Arena on November 29, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) — Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Houston Rockets, the answer to What if the intellectual dark web were an NBA franchise?, are on a three-game losing streak, their second of the last two weeks. They played in L.A. against the Lakers on Saturday night and lost by 10, bringing their road record to 0-8 on the season. There's dense beef between these two teams. They've have already played three times this season, and the Rockets deploy groin criminal Dillon Brooks on LeBron James, an always-effervescent matchup that drew out James's first technical of the season in November. Anyway, James got another technical midway through the fourth quarter in Saturday's matchup as he and Rockets coach Ime Udoka got into it on the sideline right in front of a referee.

The incident began with L.A.'s Cam Reddish fouling Tari Eason at the rim. Reddish then bumped Eason, the two started talking, and the game screeched to a brief halt as everyone stood around and jawed at each other. A minute or so into the fracas, Udoka looked over at James and mouthed, "Stop all that bitching, man." The two then continued their argument right in front of official J.T. Orr, and Udoka said something that got him ejected on the spot.

When asked after the game what he and Udoka were arguing about, James deadpanned, "Thanksgiving; how much we enjoyed Thanksgiving." A reporter joked that it "looked friendly," and James responded, "Yeah, it was." Udoka too was asked about the incident, and he was also vague, saying, "They didn't like what they heard, the refs." When asked who the "they" referred to, Udoka only identified James as "the player," before calling the Lakers soft and incapable of regularly punking opponents. Neither party would elaborate on what Udoka or James said to each other.

A courtside fan caught some audio of the argument, which features James telling Udoka, "We’re all grown men, that bitch word ain’t cool. Don't use it so loosely." Another angle of the confrontation shows what Udoka is saying to James, and though the audio isn't clear, he does seem to call him a "soft-ass boy," at one point.