Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka got in apparent tiff with LeBron James during the Rockets' recent game against the Lakers.
At this point in his career, LeBron James has nothing left to prove. The four-time NBA champ is enjoying his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, and earlier this year, he earned another high honor by becoming the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, topping records set by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan.
Now older and more mature, LeBron is capable of keeping his cool on the court. During the Lakers' game against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka seemingly began hurling insults and LeBron and the Lakers. New hot mic audio from the court reveals just how LeBron responded to the sideline heckling.
Lip readers deciphered Udoka's reaction to LeBron accusing Rockets player Alperen Şengün of traveling. "Stop crying like bitches, man. Stop bitching," Udoka apparently said. LeBron then confronted Udoka as audio captured just how he responded. "We're all grown men. Nah, that 'bitch' word ain't cool. Don't use it so loosely," he stated plainly. Udoka, for his part, didn't seem to care as LeBron repeatedly told him to not "use that word so loosely."
While it remains unclear just what Udoka said next, the Rockets head coach didn't appear to be bothered. "What are you going to do about what I said? [You're] walking over here like you're going to do something," he purportedly taunted, seemingly calling LeBron a "soft ass boy." "Stop bitching, acting like you're going to do something," he clapped back.
LEAKED Audio Of Ime Udoka Trash Talking LeBron James????:
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) December 3, 2023
Udoka: “Stop crying like b*tches, man”
LeBron: “We’re all grown men, that b*tch word ain’t cool”
Udoka: “Soft a** boy, stop b*tching. Acting like you’re gonna do something” pic.twitter.com/tmcFFsxpUu
The exchange led to both LeBron and Udoka getting technical fouls. Because it was Udoka's second of the game, the head coach was ejected from the arena.
When asked by reporters after the game just what he and Udoka were talking about on the sidelines, LeBron brushed off the question and seemingly didn't want to entertain it. "Thanksgiving. How much we enjoyed Thanksgiving," he said of what they discussed. Udoka seemingly also dodged the question when asked after the game. "We had some conversation and [the refs] don't like what they heard," he said.
LeBron on what he and Ime Udoka talked about that had Ime getting ejected. ???? pic.twitter.com/j24px8f4SC
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) December 3, 2023
Coach Ime Udoka Speaks On Getting Ejected After Words With Lebron James!???? #nba #basketball #lakers #rockets #lebron #Lebronjames #coach #imeudoka #interview #fyp #foryourpage #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo pic.twitter.com/crshuMRmV8
— Nick Hollywood (@HollywoodNick) December 3, 2023
It must have been some Thanksgiving.
