Despite recent interest from teams such as San Antonio and Memphis, it appears assistant coach Royal Ivey is staying with Ime Udoka in Houston.
Despite external pursuits from multiple NBA organizations, it appears that longtime assistant coach Royal Ivey will continue working for head coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets for at least the 2025-26 season.
“Multiple teams, including San Antonio, have pursued Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey this offseason, but Ivey is expected to stay in Houston,” Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports. “Ivey did interview for the Suns’ head coaching vacancy that went to (Jordan) Ott, and he is a close friend of Kevin Durant.”
Coincidentally, Durant remains a potential trade target of the Rockets. Both Durant and Ivey played college basketball at the University of Texas in the 2000s, along with DJ Augustin — a former NBA player who was recently hired to Houston’s front office.
Ivey also drew interest this offseason from the Memphis Grizzlies, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. As with the San Antonio pursuit, it appears that interest was in an assistant capacity and not the potential head-coaching role that Phoenix considered Ivey for.
Ivey has been a mainstay of Udoka’s bench since the start of the latter’s Houston tenure (2023-24), and it appears that partnership will continue for at least a third season. In 2024-25, with the Rockets finishing at 52-30 and at No. 2 in the Western Conference standings, Udoka finished third in NBA Coach of the Year voting. To no surprise, Udoka often credits the quality of his assistant pool as a key factor behind that success.
In addition to Ivey’s extensive NBA ties, both as a player and assistant coach, the 43-year-old was also the head coach when South Sudan secured its first-ever Olympic berth and victory in 2024. It’s likely a matter of when, not if, that Ivey receives a similar head-coaching role in the NBA — but Udoka and the Rockets are happy to reap the rewards of having him as an assistant for as long as they possibly can.
And it might even bring a few extra benefits, such as luring Durant.