The Rockets’ head coach was rewarded following a 13-2 March.
The Houston Rockets’ Ime Udoka has officially taken home Coach of the Month honors following his team’s 13-2 record during March. With this award, Udoka has become the seventh head coach in franchise history to be recognized as Coach of the Month.
The last Rocket’s coach to win was Mike D’Antoni in February of 2020. While this may be Udoka’s first honor in the West, he’s no stranger to this feeling as he won it twice in his lone season in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics. Those accolades were awarded to Udoka in February and March/April of 2022.
This was well-deserved as Udoka navigated the Rockets back within one game of the play-in standings after a rough start to the calendar year. Combine that with the Rockets losing their leading scorer, Alperen Sengun, and an improbable 12 game winning streak, it was a no-brainer for Udoka to win.
Joining Udoka with March honors is his successor on the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla. Mazzulla also earned this award following a 12-4 month in what has been a historical great season for the conference-leading Celtics.
It also should be noted that the Rockets’ second half success has followed a similar path to the 2021-22 Celtics. A first half start that ranged from mediocre to floundering, followed by a scorching late season run. Boston ultimately ended up in the NBA Finals that season, and although that may be a pipe dream for this year’s Rockets, having a chance to finish the season near or exceeding a winning record makes for exciting times in H-Town.
While March was filled with many highs, the most important stretch of the season still lies ahead for Udoka and the Rockets as they still face an uphill battle to claim the tenth seed. However, if this team has proved one thing under Udoka, it’s that they’re resilient. Stay tuned and congrats once again to Coach Udoka.