Ime Udoka faced ejection during the Houston Rockets’ 107-97 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, following an exchange with LeBron James. A lipreading account known as “LegendZ” on X shared a video on Sunday, combining various clips and angles to provide insights into the dialogue that may have transpired between the Rockets coach and James.

Udoka was needling James for complaining about a call not going the Lakers’ way. The Rockets coach appeared to tell James to “stop crying like b–ches, man.”

James appeared to take issue with Udoka’s choice of words.

“We’re all grown men, that b–ch word ain’t cool,” James appeared to say back.

James also told Udoka not to use the B-word word “so loosely.”

Udoka then goaded James, asking him “what are you going to do about it?”

Udoka continued to namecall James a bit, apparently calling him a “soft a– boy, stop b–ching. Acting like you’re gonna do something.”

Immediately following Udoka’s utterance of those concluding words, the nearby official blew the whistle and promptly ejected him.

At the moment of the heated exchange, Udoka’s Rockets were trailing by 16 points, and despite the 10-point loss, the coach’s remarks did not alter the game’s outcome. Nevertheless, the video serves as a glimpse into the ethos that Udoka is instilling in Houston. The 6-foot-5 former NBA player is unequivocally establishing a culture of resilience and tenacity for his team.