HOUSTON (AP) — Coach Ime Udoka has agreed to a contract extension with the Houston Rockets, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced. No details on the terms of the contract were available.
The move comes after Udoka led the Rockets to the second-best record in the Western Conference this season and their first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season. Houston made a remarkable turnaround in his two seasons in charge after being among the worst teams in the NBA the three seasons before his hiring.
The Rockets, who won just 42 games combined in the two seasons before Udoka was hired, went 41-41 in his first season before going 52-30 this season for their first winning record since 2019-20. Houston lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the first round of the playoffs this season.
Udoka led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022, then was suspended for the following season after the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a female Celtics employee.
The 47-year-old was hired in April 2023 to replace Stephen Silas, who was fired after three losing seasons.
ESPN was first to report the contract extension.
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FILE - Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka watches during the second half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief, four other officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after takeoff from Turkey's capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.
The Libyan delegation was in Ankara for high-level defense talks aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries, Turkish officials said.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the death of Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and the four officers, saying in a statement on Facebook that the “tragic accident" took place as the delegation was returning home. The prime minister called it a "great loss” for Libya.
Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, U.N.-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military, which has split, much like Libya’s institutions.
The four other officers who died in the crash were Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, the head of Libya’s ground forces, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, who led the military manufacturing authority, Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, advisor to the chief of staff, and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer with the chief of staff’s office.
The identities of the three crew members were not immediately known.
Turkish officials said the wreckage of the Falcon 50 type business jet had been found near the village of Kesikkavak, in Haymana, a district some 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) south of Ankara.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, Turkey’s air traffic controllers said they lost contact with the plane, which was en route back to Libya, after takeoff from Ankara's Esenboga airport.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, said in a social media post that the plane took off at 8:30 p.m. and that contact was lost 40 minutes later. The plane issued an emergency landing signal near Haymana before all communication ceased, Yerlikaya said.
Burhanettin Duran, the head of Turkish presidential communications office, said the plane notified air traffic control of an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing. The aircraft was redirected back to Esenboga where preparations for its landing began.
The plane however, disappeared from the radar while descending for the emergency landing, Duran said.
Security camera footage aired on local television stations showed the night sky over Haymana suddenly lit up by what appeared to be an explosion.
While in Ankara, al-Haddad had met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and other officials.
The airport in Ankara was temporarily closed and several flights were diverted to other locations. Turkey’s Justice Ministry said four prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the crash, as is common in such incidents.
According to a government statement on Facebook, Libya will send a team to Ankara to work with Turkish authorities on investigating the crash.
Libya plunged into chaos after the country's 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country split, with rival administrations based in the east and west, backed by an array of rogue militias and foreign governments.
Turkey has been allied with Libya's government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.
Tuesday's visit by the Libyan delegation came a day after Turkey’s parliament approved to extend the mandate of Turkish troops serving in Libya for two years. Turkey deployed troops following a 2019 security and military cooperation agreement that was reached between Ankara and the Tripoli-based government.
Abuelgasim reported from Cairo.
FILE - Libya's army chief of staff Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad poses for a photo in Tripoli, Libya, Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad, File)
Turkish soldiers and rescue teams search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and four others that crashed after taking off from Ankara, killing everyone on board, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efekan Akyuz)
Turkish rescue teams search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and four others that crashed after taking off from Ankara, killing everyone on board, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efekan Akyuz)
Turkish rescue teams search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and four others that crashed after taking off from Ankara, killing everyone on board, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efekan Akyuz)
Turkish rescue teams search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and four others that crashed after taking off from Ankara, killing everyone on board, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efekan Akyuz)
In this photo released by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey's Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, right, poses for a photograph with Libyan Chief of General Staff Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed El Haddad during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP)
In this photo released by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey's Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, right, poses for a photograph with Libyan Chief of General Staff Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed El Haddad during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP)
