When it comes to the NBA Rookie of the Year award, Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate was not named among the three finalists to win. While he cannot win Rookie of the Year, taking home All-Rookie honors would be highly satisfying for him.
Tate, who played last season in the National Basketball League, emerged as perhaps one of the top rookies of the 2020-21 season.
He appeared in all but two games game with the Rockets, averaging 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Among his rookie peers, Tate finished fourth in total scoring, second in rebounding and first in steals.
The NBA previously announced that Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton were the three finalists for Rookie of the Year. As a result, they are each locks to make the All-Rookie First Team.
After those three players, Tate seemingly has a chance to snag one of the two remaining spots. With the All-Rookie teams, positions are not taken into account so he could, potentially, finish alongside Ball, Edwards and Haliburton on the First Team.
“All those guys have been in their bag,” Tate said in an interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “I feel like it’d be awesome to be in the company with them.”
[mm-video type=video id=01f68wpn3e2e8mfb30kz playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f68wpn3e2e8mfb30kz/01f68wpn3e2e8mfb30kz-5736a3153c5e31c0a494e157e84736b9.jpg]
With the voting wrapped up on the end-of-season awards, Tate appears to have a good chance of landing on the Second Team. Some voters have even revealed that they included him on the First Team so it will be worth watching when the final tallies are revealed.
At the end of the day, though, Tate can only control what he can.
“I can control what I can control,” Tate said. “There are people that at the beginning of the year, they weren’t worried about me being 25, and now that it’s at the end of the year, it’s a problem.
“There are always going to be instances where people just have their opinion, and they’re entitled to it. And all I can do is control what I can control and go out there and try to perform how I do.”
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[lawrence-related id=32807,27067,26319]
[listicle id=32728]