In the past 12 months, Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. has had to overcome a number of challenges. Some, such as the incident that had him expelled from the NBA’s “bubble” during the 2020 playoffs, were largely self-inflicted. Other challenges, like the back spasms, sprained ankle, and health and safety protocols stint that caused him to miss significant time in the ensuing 2020-21 season, were mostly bad luck.
But when asked at Monday’s media day where he views the upcoming 2021-22 season as a fresh start, the 28-year-old forward — now one of the veterans on the suddenly rebuilding Rockets — said he did not.
“In this league, you can never start over, honestly,” said House, who noted that he did speak to his teammates about the incident at the start of last season and received their forgiveness. House continued:
The only thing that can be revamped is your character. … What I went through was a slump of me showing people me, but not my true character. Of course I let some family issues get into the way, but we’re all human.
I really can’t control nothing else but try to show them that, hey, I was young Danuel House. I bumped my head, stuff happened, boom. I’m mature Danuel House now. So it’s just one day at a time.
I asked Danuel House Jr. if this Rockets season feels like a fresh start, given everything from his past 12 months (bubble exit + health/injuries):
"In this league you can never start over, honestly. The only thing that can be revamped is your character."pic.twitter.com/mbNA9eAM2e
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) September 27, 2021
As one of the clear veterans on a team featuring 19-year-old rookies like Jalen Green, Josh Christopher, Alperen Sengun, and Usman Garuba, House vowed to use his past mistakes as a teaching opportunity.
“I’m basically gonna take what I learned and take my mistakes, and make sure that my younger brothers don’t make the same mistakes that I made,” House said. “In order to make sure that they’re helping this team, and make sure that they can succeed within their careers.”
Over parts of three seasons with the Rockets, House has averaged 9.2 points (36.4% on 3-pointers) and 3.8 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game. At 6-foot-6, he’s one of Houston’s most athletic and versatile defensive players, and he should factor into the frontcourt rotation for Stephen Silas this season. Whether House starts remains to be seen.
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