After LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ most recent match against the Houston Rockets, a photo of King James playing against Ime Udoka soon went viral on social media. As some fans might be aware, Udoka is a former NBA player and has now turned into a head coach. He is currently with the Rockets following a briefly successful and dramatic coaching career with the Celtics.
Some Rockets fans will know that LeBron’s former teammate and NBA veteran Jeff Green was on the court for the Houston Rockets last night. That might lead fans to assume that he is the player on the Rockets that James has known for the longest.
However, it turns out that LeBron has been playing in the league for so long that his earlier contemporaries are now coaching the opposing teams. With that being said, let us take a closer look at the situation and find out more.
LeBron James first matched up against Ime Udoka during the 2006-2007 NBA season
It turns out that King James has been in the NBA long enough to match up against Ime Udoka. A viral picture of the two of them facing off soon gained traction after LeBron helped the Lakers defeat the Rockets. Having played against Ime as a player and a coach is no simple matter and speaks to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s dominance in the sport.
Been cooking him 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7bGOX2knLH
— GoldenKnight (@GoldenKnightGFX) December 3, 2023
Upon further research, we can tell that LeBron and Udoka played against each other 8 times before Ime ended up retiring from the league. In those 8 games, King James averaged 32.1 points, 9 rebounds and 6.6 assists. It is important for fans to remember that Ime retired from the league after the 2010-2011 NBA season.
Udoka never really faced off against a prime LeBron James on the Miami Heat. He had already retired from playing by the time LeBron won his first NBA championship with the Miami Heat.