Most players at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas are rookies just drafted by their respective teams. Others are players who have been on an NBA roster and are trying to showcase their skills to land on a regular-season roster. And then you have those like Houston Rockets second-year guard Josh Christopher, who simply loves to play basketball.
“This decision was made before I signed my contract, or during the process,” Christopher said as the Rockets finished a three-day mini-camp in Houston. “I knew I was going to play. You guys know how I am. I want to play. If you ask me to play basketball, I will play basketball.”
Christopher was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft along with teammates Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Usman Garuba. After a slow start and a brief stint with the Rockets G League affiliate Rio Grande Vipers, the former Arizona State shooting guard solidified his place in the Rockets rotation as a go-to reserve for head coach Stephen Silas.
His breakout game came against former Rockets superstar James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets, where he went 7-for-7 from the field and finished with 18 points on his 20th birthday. As his playing time increased, so did his performances. It showed when he scored a career-high 30 points versus Minnesota in April, becoming the first reserve for the Rockets to score over 30 points since Austin Rivers in 2020.
Houston Rockets second year player Josh Christopher on his decision to play in the 2022 NBA Summer League:
“You guys know how I am. I want to play. If you ask me to play basketball, I will play basketball.”#Rockets #LightTheFuse #Sarge #NBASummerLeague @Jaygup23 pic.twitter.com/RnaHAQ6zIE— Houston Sports Insider (@BigSargeSportz) July 7, 2022
Christopher appeared in 74 games this past season and averaged 7.9 points per game, shooting 44.8% from the field and 30.0% on 3-pointers. Undoubtedly, he would love to improve the latter figure.
As with any player who loves to be in the gym, Christopher has specific things he wants to work on during the summer league action.
“My priorities for myself in summer league is to be very solid, be able to playmake, and win ball games, of course,” Christopher said this week. “I guess I have a year under my belt now, so I want to be able to help the new guys feel as comfortable as possible and help them succeed, as well as myself and the whole Rockets organization.”
Houston takes on Orlando at the Thomas & Mack Center in Thursday’s opening game of the 2022 summer league. It’s a matchup of top rookies Jabari Smith (picked at No. 3 by the Rockets) and Paolo Banchero (No. 1 to the Magic), with tipoff set for 9 p.m. CDT on ESPN.
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