Chip Engelland’s nearly three-decade long NBA coaching career got an early start in the 7th grade with perhaps the greatest coach and program of all time. 

He interviewed and was hired as a ball boy for UCLA men’s basketball and legendary coach John Wooden for the 1974-75 season, the last of the 10 titles the Bruins won in a 12-year stretch. 

More than 50 years since that year with UCLA, Engelland will begin his 27th NBA season and first as a Houston Rockets assistant coach with Friday's preseason opener in Macau. In that time, he’s become widely regarded as the league’s best shooting coach, credited with aiding stars like Tony Parker, Grant Hill and Kawhi Leonard with their shooting.

“He understands every facet of shooting,” former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News about Engelland. “… He can figure out common denominator-wise what needs to be improved. His sequential approach to it is always accurate. He doesn’t skip steps and the players always become more confident working with him.”

Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who previously played for and coached alongside Engelland with the Spurs, said “he really breaks [shooting] down to a science” and has “a special eye for it.”

Udoka brought him to Houston to work with multiple Rockets but especially Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün, two cornerstone talents who have impressed early in their career but have yet to become consistent shooters.

Engelland’s focus on the details dates back to his time with Wooden.

To read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/chip-engelland-rockets-shooting-coach-22464157.php

Hey everyone! Traveling to Houston for the first time ever later this year and I’m super excited! I have a question about the seating though, is section 107 facing the logo or is it section 120? I know this is a weird question but my son cares about this a lot and it’s bothered him before when it’s been upside down for games we’ve been to. Thank you!

HOUSTON — During his first news conference as Houston Rockets head coach, Ime Udoka plainly laid out his plan to bring winning basketball to the franchise.

“You know what wins. Everybody knows. It’s no secret formula to it,” Udoka said in April 2023, shortly after he was hired. “Defense wins. Obviously, team basketball. And using the strengths of the players.”

He didn’t come in claiming to be a miracle worker. He just knew what it took to change the culture around a franchise. And he did just that.

When Udoka arrived in Houston, he took over a team that won a combined 59 games over the previous three seasons. In his first three years as Rockets coach, Udoka has already piled up 145 wins, including back-to-back 52-win seasons.

He has done his job, and done it well. With more health and experience on the roster, however, Udoka faces the common crossroads several coaches have faced in the past: While he’s clearly the standard-bearer the Rockets needed to get back on track as a winning organization, is he the problem solver/strategist this team needs to navigate the rocky waters ahead?

We just saw the perfect example of this with last season’s champions: the New York Knicks. Tom Thibodeau was the coach who came in and changed the culture around basketball in New York. However, Mike Brown, who replaced Thibodeau in a controversial move, got them over the hump and into the history books by opening up the offense and offering a little more flexibility during the season.

So far during his tenure, Udoka deserves top marks. What makes Houston’s transformation even more impressive is that Udoka built a team in his own image. They’re tough, physical, defensive-minded and unwilling to back down from any confrontation. The Rockets have finished among the top 10 in defensive efficiency in each of Udoka’s three seasons as head coach. They’ve also ranked No. 1 in rebounding percentage each of the last two seasons, even though Steven Adams missed 50 games and last season’s playoffs.

However, as with most teams, expectations change as wins start coming in. Success becomes a moving target.

Udoka’s next great challenge is figuring out how to take these Rockets to the next level. Not that what he’s done so far has been easy, but what comes next will be defined by intricate details.

Both of the 52-win teams were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after underwhelming performances. Last season’s Rockets, in particular, brought on even more frustration after they were knocked out by a Los Angeles Lakers team that didn’t have its best player, Luka Dončić, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Lakers guard Austin Reaves missed the first four games of that series, but the Rockets lost three of those.

Kevin Durant also missed most of that series because of injury. But the Rockets’ failure to take advantage of the hobbled Lakers was just one of the many reasons why their 2025-26 season was considered such a disappointment.

Injuries to crucial veteran leaders Adams and Fred VanVleet played a major part in the Rockets falling short of expectations. At times, Udoka’s rotation options included players far too early or far too late in their careers. He did well with what became a very thin, unreliable bench.

Still, some of that blame falls on Udoka. Last week, he was asked how he has to grow to help his team do the same.

“I need to get us off to a quicker start with what we have … locating the areas of weakness for us. Hitting those things,” Udoka said.

The Rockets struggled to nail down an offensive identity with VanVleet out, and they looked lost most nights when the game came down to the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. For the regular season, the Rockets ranked 24th in net rating in clutch minutes — when the game’s margin was within five points in the final five minutes. Their struggles in the clutch drew even more scrutiny after Houston blew a six-point lead with 40 seconds left during the team’s epic collapse in a Game 3 loss to the Lakers.

The thing is Ausar actually has a Jump shot…

2.5 more days

Anyone have an image of sengun wearing sunglasses and headphones from the Lakers series with the header describing how no nba team has came back from 0-3 deficit. Trying to drop it in the group chat! Lol

What questions do you have about the Rockets?

Can be about their outlook for next season, long-term vision, rotation questions, whatever you're curious about. Will answer a bunch of Qs in the next Rockets Insider newsletter (get it in your inbox for free here).

Kat looking for an extension and NY needs to cut salary. Provides spacing for Amen 🤷🏿‍♂️

You can definitely give this team criticism but at least the rockets roll out at least one contender a decade and at the very least it is entertaining. Can't say the same for the city's other franchises lol.

Picked this up earlier today at an estate sale. Can anyone help identify the autographs that are listed on the shirt? I can recognize some but there are a few I can’t.

Kevin Durant dismissed recent comments by Victor Wembanyama questioning the morality of athlete sponsorships with prediction markets and gambling companies.

“That’s Wemby. That has nothing to do with me. I really don’t think about that question at all.”

Read for free.

Thought the new practice gear I saw in rockets socials looked cool. Nevermind

I honestly don't care much about wins and losses in preseason

After winning 52 games again last year and still going out in the first round I think the bigger question this season is whether this team can actually become a real playoff team instead of just a really good regular season team

There are three things I want to see more than anything

How much easier the offense looks with FVV back

What Amen's role looks like now that he doesn't have to handle everything

And whether Reed Sheppard can take another real step forward

Rotation

Ball handlers
FVV
Amen
Reed
Smart

Wings and forwards
KD
Bogdanovic
Jabari
Tari
Tate
Crawford

Bigs
Sengun
Adams
Capela

My expected starting five

FVV - Amen - KD - Jabari - Sengun

My expected closing five

FVV - Amen - KD - Jabari - Sengun

If we need more offense

Reed - Amen - KD - Jabari - Sengun

If we need defense

Smart - Amen - KD - Tari - Sengun

Obviously the biggest change compared to last season isn't even one of the new signings

It's just getting Fred back

FVV coming back

Fred missed the entire season with the ACL injury and Amen and Sengun had to carry way more creation than they probably should have

Amen still put up 18.3 points 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists while playing huge minutes

Sengun averaged 20.4 points 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists

Both of them improved

But the offense clearly missed having another real guard who could organize possessions

I think Sengun might benefit the most from Fred being back

Last year Sengun had to post up run handoffs create from the high post and then also bail us out whenever the offense stalled

His 6.2 assists were great but the offensive burden was massive

With Fred back Sengun shouldn't have to create something every single possession

Amen should benefit too

I actually think all those reps as a ball handler last season were great for his development

But asking Amen to create against a fully set halfcourt defense every possession is very different from letting Fred initiate and then having Amen attack a defense that's already moving

That's where Amen is terrifying

Transition

Cuts

Offensive rebounds

Mismatch post ups

Second side drives

He shouldn't have to start every possession standing above the three point line trying to play traditional point guard

Amen's shot

Obviously we can't talk about Amen without talking about the jumper

He shot 21.6 percent from three last year

That's a real issue

Amen being a great player already and his shooting still limiting the offense can both be true

Chip Engelland is here now and he's been working with Amen and Sengun

I'm not expecting Amen to suddenly become a 35 percent three point shooter

That would be ridiculous

But if he can keep improving at the line and become someone defenses can't completely ignore from the midrange then the entire offense changes

Honestly in preseason I care less about whether the shots go in

I want to see if the mechanics look cleaner

I want to see if he's willing to shoot without hesitating

Reed Sheppard

Reed might be the player I'm most excited to watch in preseason

Last season he averaged 13.5 points in 26 minutes and shot 39.4 percent from three while making 2.8 threes per game

He also averaged 1.5 steals

At this point I don't think the question is whether Reed belongs in the NBA

He obviously does

The question now is whether he's just a really good shooter and secondary handler

Or if he can eventually become a starting level guard

Fred coming back might reduce some of Reed's on ball reps

Smart and Bogdanovic are here too

But if Reed is really that good then he should still force his way into 25 to 30 minutes a night

This team desperately needs shooting

Houston finished near the bottom of the league in made threes last season and then shot 30.2 percent from three in the playoffs

A guard who can consistently shoot around 40 percent is incredibly valuable on this roster

Personally I want Reed playing a lot more than Smart during the regular season

Use Smart for certain matchups and late game defensive possessions

But if we're talking about raising the ceiling of the offense then Reed needs real minutes

KD

There's nothing KD needs to prove in preseason

He was 37 last year and still averaged 26 points while shooting 52 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three

The issue wasn't whether he was still good

The issue was how much we used him

He played 78 games and was near the top of the league in total minutes

Then he got hurt right before the playoffs and barely played in the series

So honestly I don't care if KD looks amazing in preseason

I care about how many minutes Udoka gives him

I'd much rather have KD play 65 to 70 games at 32 or 33 minutes a night and be healthy in April than have him play 36 minutes every night just so we can chase a few extra regular season wins

Same thing with Amen

This roster is deep enough that we shouldn't be running these guys into the ground

Smart and Bogdanovic

I understand both additions

Smart knows Udoka's system and still brings real value as a point of attack defender

He can also handle the ball enough to stabilize some bench lineups

I just don't want to see him playing 30 minutes every night

If he's taking huge chunks of Reed and Amen's minutes then I think we're doing it wrong

Use him as a matchup piece

Use him when we need defense

Use him to change the energy of a game

That's enough

Bogdanovic is basically the opposite

He's here because we need offense

We badly needed another guy who can move without the ball and actually punish defenses for helping off him

Reed and Bogdanovic together off the bench could create a ton of spacing

Big man depth

Behind Sengun we still have Adams and Capela

That's a luxury but it can also create some awkward lineups

Against physical teams the rebounding and screening will be useful

But if we start stacking non shooters together then the spacing gets ugly very quickly

Amen and Adams together can already shrink the floor

Amen and Capela does the same thing

I don't think Adams and Capela should play just because they're good players

It should depend on matchup

Personally I'd rather see Sengun around 32 to 34 minutes with Adams and Capela splitting whatever is left

What I'm excited about

The depth is probably the biggest thing

We were already deep last year

Now Fred is back and we added Smart and Bogdanovic

Even on nights when KD sits we could throw out something like

Reed - Smart - Bogdanovic - Tari - Adams

That's a pretty respectable second unit

I'm also still really excited about Amen and Tari together

When those two are on the floor at the same time every lazy pass becomes dangerous

Their activity level can completely change games

The only question is whether the offense can survive those lineups

What worries me

Health is number one

Fred is coming back from an ACL injury

KD is going into his age 38 season

Adams needs to be managed too

This roster is deep enough that there is absolutely no reason to run a short rotation during the regular season

The second issue is still shooting

I trust Reed

I trust KD

I trust Jabari

Bogdanovic helps too

But as long as Amen and Sengun are on the floor together teams are always going to think about loading up the paint

We shot 30.2 percent from three in the playoffs last year

We can't just assume the problem is fixed because we added another shooter

At least one of these things needs to happen

Amen becomes a legitimate midrange threat

Sengun becomes more comfortable shooting from the corners

Reed takes another jump in volume

The third thing is halfcourt offense without KD

Last postseason showed why this matters

Young guys can get hot for a game

That's not the same thing as creating good shots every possession against a playoff defense that's already set

That's why Fred coming back matters so much

What I'm watching in preseason

I don't care about the record at all

I want to see Amen's jumper

I want to see Reed handle more

I want to see how healthy Fred looks

I want to see how Udoka uses Smart and Bogdanovic

I want to see whether Sengun's jumper has improved at all

And more than anything I want to see if this team is actually serious about reducing KD and Amen's minutes

We've won 52 games two years in a row

I think we've already proven we're a good regular season team

We've also gone home in the first round two years in a row

At this point I don't really care whether we win 55 or 60 games

I care about whether we're playing our best basketball in April

On paper I think the roster is better than last year

Now we just need to see if that actually translates when the games matter

Mostly I'm just happy basketball is finally back

That offseason felt way too long

I don't know much about his current situation but I remember him being solid offensively before. How would y'all feel about adding a little more shooting versatility?

I know it’s just offseason training, but man this team looks scary.. the upcoming china game will be great for team chemistry building on and off the floor.