Udoka Showed Kevin Durant, Rockets Video from 'Paid in Full' Movie After FVV Injury
Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka turned to cinema to help his message to Kevin Durant and the rest of the team after Fred VanVleet tore his ACL prior to the start of training camp.
Per ESPN's Michael C. Wright, Udoka showed the Rockets a clip from the 2002 film Paid in Full to highlight a point he wanted to make about what direction the team can take despite not having their starting point guard.
The film is about a character named Ace who becomes the leader of a budding drug trade enterprise in Harlem and suffers a gunshot wound to the head, leaving him questioning if he wants to continue down the path he was on.
Rico, a business partner with Ace, wants to push forward with things.
"If you've seen the movie 'Paid in Full,' he says, '[People] get shot every day, B. You'll be all right,'" Udoka told Wright. "I showed that clip to the team. I said, 'People get hurt every day. We'll be all right.' We'll figure out a different way to do it. That's the message. You've got to figure it out, and we're capable. That's where our depth and versatility come into play. We can go several different ways: super big lineups, small lineups and everything in between."
It's definitely a strange analogy to make when you consider the specific sequence is about a character getting shot in the head. It also conveniently leaves out the part where Ace does get out of the business and sets Rico up to be taken in by undercover FBI agents for lying about a kidnapping to get ransom money.
Despite some nitpicks about the strategy, it's one that seemed to resonate with Rockets players. Durant told Wright "those metaphors, they can help our team" because it shows Udoka is "somebody that cares about his team and is trying to use unique ways to get messages through to the guys."
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Sept. 22 that VanVleet suffered the knee injury and could miss the entire 2025-26 season. It was a huge blow to a Rockets team that was trending up after winning 52 games last season and acquiring Durant in the offseason.
VanVleet was set to be the driving force on offense as the point guard. Amen Thompson has been tabbed to take his spot at the start of the regular season. The 22-year-old is primarily known for being a defensive stopper, but his offensive game did improve last season with 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game in 69 appearances.
Time will tell if Udoka's film session pays off. We will get our first chance to see it in the opening game of the 2025-26 season when the Rockets take on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
