'Got Some Missing Screws': Jabari Smith Jr. Gets Frank On Ime Udoka Changing The Rockets' Culture

Jabari Smith Jr. recently signed a five-year, $122 million contract extension with the Rockets, where all five seasons are guaranteed. Smith Jr is one of the key young core pieces of the Rockets who are building a championship contender for the coming season. The transition from a rebuilding team to a playoff team for the Rockets is heavily credited to the signing of Ime Udoka as a replacement for Stephen Silas.

In a recent appearance on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's podcast, Jabari Smith Jr spoke candidly about the transition from Silas' coaching to Ime Udoka. 

“Anybody who knows Ime knows that Ime’s got some missing screws. You know what I'm saying? I don't know how to put this, but he's going to coach you hard. You know what I'm saying? As you see, like he has made the team play hard. Like everybody knows that we're gonna play hard, and that's just who he is." 

"And he's good to talk to, just a players' coach, honestly. You could talk to him, obviously somebody who played in the league, he can relate to his players. So I mean, he helped me a lot. He obviously helped the team, helped the organization a lot. So I mean things are looking up, man.”

One key difference in the Rockets' culture was that they changed their veterans from the likes of John Wall and Eric Gordon to Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. But the biggest change was that they no longer had Stephen Silas at the helm. Smith Jr spoke about having Silas as his first coach in the NBA as well and how his exit changed everything for the Rockets. 

“Silas was our first coach. He was a good coach. But like I said, man, that couldn't nobody control that. It was just a wreck. You know what I'm saying? It was like, and if anybody knows Coach Silas, like he's the nicest dude in the world, you know what I'm saying? Like he knows basketball. He knows what he's talking about. It's just like, as far as controlling that, it was tough for him. But Ime came in and put some--- Ime, Fred, and Dillon came in and put some control on.”

The Rockets transitioned from a 22-win team to a 41-win team in the first season under Ime Udoka (2023-24). They finished second in the Western Conference behind the NBA champions, the OKC Thunder, with a 52-30 record in the 2024-25 regular season. Now with the additions of Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela this offseason, they are expected to be frontrunners to be championship contenders from the Western Conference. 

Jabari Smith Jr's efficiency skyrocketed as a result of the transition from Stephen Silas' era to Ime Udoka's. In his rookie season, he averaged 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 40.8% from the field and only 30.7% from beyond the three-point line (in 2022-23). In the following season (2023-24), Smith Jr averaged his career-high 13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc. 

Last season (2024-25), he averaged 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists but missed a lot of games due to a broken wrist injury. Smith Jr's defensive skills, combined with his clutch shot-making and efficient offense, make him the perfect apprentice to learn from Kevin Durant.