Ime Udoka, the newly hired head coach of the Rockets, is enjoying a fresh start in Houston. After his successful-but-brief tenure with the Boston Celtics ended in scandal, Udoka is exploring his new NBA home, and one step came earlier this month at Minute Maid Park.
That’s the home stadium of the Astros, who have become Major League Baseball’s most dominant franchise in recent years. With two World Series championships and four American League pennants over their last five complete seasons, the Astros have suddenly become the gold standard for sports dominance in Houston.
It wasn’t always that way. Ten years ago, the Astros wrapped up a third lowly season with one of MLB’s worst records. But they saved money during that period while loading up their organization with highly drafted prospects, and that set the table for a run of sustainable success and future investments that continues today.
That’s a template that Udoka would love to follow, of course, as his team enters the second phase of a franchise rebuild featuring the likes of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun as young building blocks. They should add at least another key piece with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft on June 22, followed by an active free agency period in which the Rockets will have a league-leading figure of approximately $60 million in salary cap flexibility.
So, perhaps it’s fitting that Udoka and the Astros are linked as Houston attempts to enter phase two of its ongoing rebuild. Here’s a look back at Udoka’s form from June 1 at Minute Maid Park.