Danuel House Jr. apologizes to Rockets, fans for NBA bubble ‘mishap’

Wednesday was the first interview for House since his dismissal from the NBA bubble, owing to his violation of league safety protocols.

For the first time since his early exit from the 2020 NBA playoffs, Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. publicly addressed the incident that prompted his dismissal from the NBA “bubble” in September.

House spoke Wednesday at Toyota Center, where he and other players are starting training camp activites for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

In a virtual media availability session, House said the following:

I’d like to start off by apologizing to my team, the organization, and the owner for the mishap that happened in the bubble. I’m focused. It’s behind me. It’s in the past. New year, new season. I’m learning, and I’m looking forward to growing and expanding. I’d like to deeply apologize to the fans, also. If you felt I let you down, sincere apologies from me, Danuel House Jr., to everyone.

When asked whether he would address the team at training camp about the incident, House said he had already spoken to his teammates about it — presumably with a similar sentiment of remorse.

Veteran guard Eric Gordon was asked whether House needs to rebuild trust in the team’s locker room. He responded:

No. He just needs to play basketball. … He’s just got to come out and play. I wouldn’t say that he needs to worry about anything.

House missed Houston’s final three playoff games after the NBA determined that he had close contact with an unauthorized person in the team’s hotel — allegedly, a female COVID-19 testing official. House left the league’s Disney World bubble at the conclusion of an investigation.

While testing officials were allowed at the secured site, they went in and out each day and did not live there. Thus, as with maintenance staff, the NBA had strict safety protocols in place to minimize the potential exposure of those workers to players and coaches living there. House violated those rules, so he faced harsh discipline. Making matters worse, House initially denied the accusation before eventually confirming it.

The Rockets went 0-3 in those games without House, and All-Star guard James Harden called it “a distraction” upon Houston’s second-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. “Very, very disappointing,” Harden said. “It affected us. He was a huge part of our rotation.”

[lawrence-related id=38669,38182]

Now 27 years old, House averaged 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game during the playoffs. The 6-foot-6 forward is still under contract with the Rockets for two more years.

“Even though I wasn’t able to participate, as soon as I got home, I was in the gym,” House said of his offseason following the bubble incident. “And then as soon coach [John] Lucas got home, I got back in the gym and did some conditioning, and stuff like that, to stay in shape. So, right now, I feel like it’s a momentum builder. I mean, you live and learn. You take the bad and you just flip it, and make the energy work for you.”

[lawrence-related id=38723]