Ime Udoka Laughs Off Claims He Once Locked Up Kevin Durant

Stephen Douglas | Jul 14, 2025

Kevin Durant guarded by coach Ime Udoka back in 2009. / Photo by Larry W. Smith / NBAE via Getty Images

Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets earlier this summer and will play next season under Ime Udoka. The pair have some history with Durant and Udoka both being members of the 2020–2021 Brooklyn Nets, with Durant as a player and Udoka as an assistant coach.

They also played each other well over a decade ago. Durant was drafted in 2007, the same summer that Udoka signed with the San Antonio Spurs. Durant apparently remembers some early matchups with his former coach and said as much after a podcaster looked up some footage of Udoka guarding Durant.

Durant responded to a tweet saying Udoka was "kinda" locking him up by saying, "I ain’t gon lie it was a wrestling match, I looked over to the ref one time and he was like “stop all that f---in cryin”. He was an OG so he sound like my uncle when he said, I had to lock in real quick."

Over the weekend Udoka was asked about this on ESPN during the broadcast of the Summer League game between the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.

Ime Udoka: "I've never locked up Kevin Durant. If he misses a shot it probably has nothing to do with a 6-5 guy trying to contest him"pic.twitter.com/eHTNaWzQao https://t.co/q8pgrY0Ryb

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) July 13, 2025

"I've never locked up Kevin Durant," said Udoka with a smile. "Let's just start with that. If he misses a shot it probably has nothing to do with a 6'5" guy trying to contest him."

After retiring from basketball, Udoka joined the Spurs coaching staff and San Antonio met Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder twice in the postseason before the coach left for an assistant coaching job with the 76ers.

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