Darvin Ham fires back at Ime Udoka over LeBron James incident

Nov 30, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham at a press conference during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Darvin Ham had some bars for Ime Udoka following Udoka’s incident with LeBron James over the weekend.

The Houston Rockets head coach Udoka got ejected from Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers after a verbal altercation with the Lakers star James. Udoka got into it with James from the sideline during the fourth quarter and ended up getting a technical foul out of the exchange (video here). Because it was Udoka’s second T of the game (he already picked one up in the second quarter), he was automatically tossed.

A viral clip that circulated on Sunday revealed what Udoka said to James during the incident. Apparently upset about James’ complaining to the refs, Udoka called for James and the Lakers to “stop crying like b–ches.” James then called Udoka out for his use of the B-word, but Udoka doubled down, saying, “soft a– boy, stop b–ching. Acting like you’re gonna do something.”

You can listen to that audio here.

Appearing Monday on “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shared Ham’s fiery reaction to what Udoka had said about James and the Lakers.

“There ain’t no crying b–ches over here,” Shelburne quoted the Lakers head coach Ham as saying to her. “Saginaw said so.”

The 50-year-old Ham is a native of Saginaw, Mich.

Udoka’s greater point probably stands since James and the Lakers are fairly notorious for whining about calls (sometimes even going to the league office to complain). But Ham, the second-year head coach, always make sure that he has his players’ backs. In fact, this sounds a lot like how Ham fired back at Golden State coach Steve Kerr in last year’s playoffs.