Tag: Boban Marjanović

‘Season of Giving’: How Rockets gave back to Houston over holidays

The Houston Rockets, along with select players and Kroger as the official sponsor, hosted a series of “Season of Giving” events in December.

The Houston Rockets, along with select players and sponsor Kroger, hosted a series of “Season of Giving” events in December.

Rockets players who took part in these special holiday events included Boban Marjanović, Aaron Holiday, Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet, Jae’Sean Tate, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks.

Read on for details of various program events over the past two weeks, along with photos and videos of the many players taking part. All information and multimedia content is courtesy of the Rockets.

Dec. 12

Marjanović kicked off the team’s Season of Giving initiative by participating in a shopping spree for underserved families at Kroger on Buffalo Speedway. As part of that shopping spree, Marjanović spent the evening posing for photos and helping select families pick out groceries with gift cards provided by Kroger.

Dec. 19

The Rockets and Holiday partnered with Kroger to provide Casa De Esperanza with holiday gifts for its House of Hope foster care program. Kroger gifted a refrigerator and air fryer while donating groceries to fill the fridge and pantry of a “House of Hope” home.

Through the Aaron Holiday Foundation, Aaron and his wife, Ashli, made a donation to the program, which was matched by the NBA. Casa de Esperanza, which opened in 1982, provides safety, hope and a home to children whose families are affected by domestic violence, substance abuse, poverty, homelessness and mental illness.

Elsewhere, Smith provided a special experience for 50 students at Jack Yates High School with holiday gifts and a surprise party featuring food and entertainment. Located in the heart of Houston’s Third Ward community, Jack Yates High School opened in 1926 and was Houston’s second school for African-American children.

Finally, VanVleet and Houston Texans offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil jointly hosted a surprise shopping spree for 50 kids from the Urban Enrichment Institute. VanVleet and Tunsil began the festivities with a Christmas dinner party, courtesy of Trill Burgers.

Following dinner, VanVleet and Tunsil took the students to Target to help them pick out holiday gifts as part of a shopping spree.

The Urban Enrichment Institute is a youth leadership and development program for at-risk males between the 12 and 19 years old. It is designed to empower boys to become responsible men and productive members of their families and communities.

Dec. 21

Tate partnered with Lily’s Toy Box to provide holiday gifts for underserved children. Tate participated in holiday activities with children and presented them with tickets to a future home game.

Lily’s Toy Box is described as a nonprofit foundation that provides new toys to kids going through difficult situations. It was originally founded by 8-year-old Lily DuBose, when she began giving away her own toys to kids affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Later that day, Green hosted a holiday party for families at Ronald McDonald House Houston. While there, Green was joined by Rockets mascot Clutch the Bear and members of the Clutch City Dancers, who helped distribute gifts and serve dinner to the families.

For 40 years, Ronald McDonald House Houston has provided a home away from home for families whose children are seriously ill and being treated at a hospital inside the Texas Medical Center.

That night, Brooks hosted a holiday party for more than 50 foster kids at BEAR Houston. Brooks was hand to greet the kids and provided them with a special dinner courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings. There was a photo booth, face painting station and various other holiday activities for kids to participate in with Brooks.

BEAR…BE A Resource is a nonprofit organization that aims to improve lives by providing hope and help for at-risk and CPS-involved children and their caretakers in the greater Houston area.

Dec. 22

To close the “Season of Giving,” Brooks invited a Rockets fan facing a serious illness to attend Friday’s home game versus the Mavericks. Brooks provided a VIP experience for the fan and their family, including a pregame meet-and-greet on the court.

Scroll on for further details and highlights from each of these holiday events, along with accompanying photos and videos.

Boban Marjanovic edges Jeremiah Robinson-Earl for Houston’s final roster spot

Veteran center Boban Marjanovic beat out Jeremiah Robinson-Earl for Houston’s final roster spot entering the 2023-24 regular season.

As part of the process for trimming expanded offseason rosters to the maximum of 15 standard contracts for the NBA’s regular season, the Houston Rockets were inevitably going to let go of a center.

With Alperen Sengun entrenched as a starter and Jock Landale and Jeff Green among reserve options, there are only so many roster spots that will be used for players who can only play one position.

As it turned out, veteran big man Boban Marjanovic gained the final spot on the depth chart instead of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, a third-year prospect who was recently acquired from Oklahoma City as part of the larger trade involving Kevin Porter Jr. and Victor Oladipo.

Marjanovic, 35, is significantly older than the 22-year-old Robinson-Earl. And with the Rockets still far from contention mode, some fans had wondered if Houston might err on the side of youth.

But the Rockets value Marjanovic’s veteran presence and positive influence, as evidenced by their choice to re-sign him as a free agent this offseason. On the other hand, Robinson-Earl was likely a throw-in for financial reasons by the Thunder, who were inevitably going to have to release him, anyway, due to the regular-season roster crunch.

With Marjanovic’s spot secure, Houston appears to have finalized its roster entering Wednesday night’s season opener in Orlando. Tipoff between the Rockets and Magic is 6 p.m. Central.

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Jock Landale, Boban Marjanovic ready to provide guidance, competition for Rockets

“Offensively, he’s got it all. He didn’t need too much help, there,” Jock Landale says of Alperen Sengun. “I think where I can help is just pushing him, defensively.” #Rockets

For the Houston Rockets, third-year prospect Alperen Sengun is the clear starter at center entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

It’s not as if the team is otherwise devoid of depth at the NBA’s most critical interior position. In moves designed to provide guidance, competition and leadership, the Rockets signed 27-year-old Jock Landale away from the Phoenix Suns this offseason while re-signing 35-year-old big man Boban Marjanovic.

At Monday’s media day, held in advance of Tuesday’s opening of training camp, both Landale and Marjanovic took questions from reporters regarding their roles and expectations for the new season.

Landale sprained his ankle in international competition this offseason for his native Australia, but he expects to be mostly cleared entering camp — at which he will compete with Sengun in practices.

As for Marjanovic, his role is again expected to be more on the depth and leadership side. But within that context, he’s excited to have more veterans to assist in that endeavor, relative to last season.

From Monday, here’s what both big men had to say to reporters.

Veteran center Boban Marjanovic returning to Rockets for 2023-24 season

Veteran center and clubhouse icon Boban Marjanovic is back with the #Rockets for the 2023-24 season, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn).

NBA veteran Boban Marjanovic was beloved by players and many others throughout the Houston Rockets organization in 2022-23. The 7-foot-3 center drew rave reviews for his positivity among younger players and his positive impact on the team’s culture.

Now, as the Rockets transition to the second phase of their rebuild (and with Ime Udoka as head coach, rather than Stephen Silas), it appears there’s still a role for the Serbian big man.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Marjanovic is signing a new deal to return to the Rockets for the 2023-24 season.

Woj writes:

Marjanovic — one of the most popular teammates and marketable players in the league — is beginning his ninth season in the NBA and stays with a Rockets organization that appreciated his presence on and off the court.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle adds:

Marjanović is an enormously popular figure around the NBA for his jovial demeanor and amiable approach to his career and was considered a valuable example for the young Rockets last season.

Marjanovic was a free agent after last season. Financial terms of the deal were not released, but seem likely to be near the league’s minimum salary, since he played only sparingly.

In 31 games last season, Marjanovic averaged 3.3 points (68.3% FG) and 1.9 rebounds in 5.5 minutes. He’s a highly skilled offensive big man with soft touch around the rim, though his size often makes him a liability on defense. He was primarily used either in mop-up duty or in limited matchups against traditional big men, which might minimize his defensive shortcomings.

As the Rockets and other teams throughout his eight-year NBA career see it, the primary value of having Marjanovic is realized in many areas beyond the traditional on-court settings.

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Rockets finish 2022-23 season on winning streak behind rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason

#Rockets rookies Jabari Smith and Tari Eason flourished Sunday in Washington as Houston (22-60) finished its 2022-23 season with three straight wins and four of five, overall.

In the final game of the NBA’s 2022-23 season for both teams, the Rockets rallied to defeat the Wizards on Sunday, 114-109 (box score). Both teams were short-handed, as expected, in a regular-season finale with no playoff implications, with Houston (22-60) resting Kevin Porter Jr. and Washington (35-47) holding out big names such as Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis.

With the road victory, the rebuilding Rockets finished the season with three straight wins and four of their last five, overall. However, that wasn’t enough to save the job of head coach Stephen Silas, whose team finished with one of the NBA’s three worst records (and maximum draft-lottery odds) in each of his three years in Houston.

Besides sitting Porter, the Rockets gave only limited minutes to starting center Alperen Sengun (12 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) and guard Jalen Green (14 points, 4 assists, 50% FG), who sat out late. Houston did, however, let its 2022-23 rookies play usual minutes.

Jabari Smith Jr. led the way for the Rockets with 20 points and 5 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%), including 7-of-8 on free-throws (87.5%), while Tari Eason had 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists on a matching 6-of-11 line. Second-year guard Josh Christopher started in place of Porter and had 13 points and 4 assists on 6-of-10 shooting (60.0%), while veteran big man Boban Marjanovic added 10 points (71.4% FG) and 6 rebounds in only 13 minutes.

Jordan Goodwin led the Wizards with 22 points and 5 assists on 8-of-14 shooting (57.1%) and 3-of-8 from 3-point range (37.5%).

Scroll on for highlights, postgame interviews, and reaction from Houston fans and media members. With their season complete, next up for the Rockets are exit interviews to recap the year and preview the offseason. A schedule for those has yet to be released.

Rockets center Boban Marjanovic named as finalist for 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award

#Rockets center Boban Marjanovic is one of six finalists for the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award, as announced by the league office. Current players will vote on the winner.

Veteran center Boban Marjanovic, now with the Houston Rockets, is one of six finalists for the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

With finalists announced by the league office, the annual honor recognizes the player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. Current NBA players will select the winner from these six finalists; one from each division.

Other finalists for the sportsmanship award are Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat; Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings; Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks; Mike Conley of the Minnesota Timberwolves; and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now 34 years old, the 7-foot-3 Marjanovic has played largely in mop-up duty for the Rockets, averaging 3 points (66.7% FG), 1.8 rebounds and 5.2 minutes over 29 games. His primary role with the rebuilding Rockets has been as a positive leader and locker-room mentor for the team’s younger prospects, who have frequently lauded his value throughout the season.

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Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. enjoys ‘special moment’ of game winner

“I felt like I was in a video game,” #Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. says. “It was crazy. It was like I didn’t see anybody else. The gym went blank; it was just me and him.”

HOUSTON — The Rockets’ young and energetic team had every right to be excited about playing another game in front of their home crowd, coming off two big season wins against the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. They were also elated to have an opportunity to win three games in a row for the first time this season.

Yet, when they took the court Friday, it looked as if they were still stuck in the past two games. New Orleans raced out to a 26-12 lead midway through the first quarter, seemingly before the Rockets realized they were playing a game. They looked sluggish on defense, allowing the Pelicans to go 6-for-6 from 3-point range.

It seemed like one of those nights where Houston’s youth and inexperience would kick in, and New Orleans would run their rebuilding opponents off the court. By the third quarter, the Rockets were falling consistently victim to open jump shots by Brandon Ingram and physical post play from Jonas Valanciunas.

“For a while, JV (Jonas Valanciunas) was just going at us and posting us up,” said Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. “We tried to do different things, as far as Alpi (Alperen Sengun) and having Uz (Usman Garuba) guard him. In the second quarter, we put Bobi (Boban Marjanovic) on him for a little while. We double-teamed him. We did a little bit of everything.”

Adding to the problem, Houston’s young players seemingly allowed the officials to get inside their heads in the second and third quarters. It started to look like the rebuilding Rockets of old, who would often mentally check out of games when they faced adversity.

But this differs from the adolescent team the Pelicans defeated twice earlier this season. This team of young players has grown over the last eight games, in which they’ve posted a 5-3 record.

Over that time, the Rockets have built chemistry and morale, which are traits they can take with them into next season. On Friday, they never gave up hope. Even by 14 points with under 10 minutes left, Houston knew it had to get back to playing its brand of basketball.

For the Rockets, that brand is playing with hustle, grit, and determination. It’s something Pelicans head coach Willie Green said he expected Houston to do coming into Friday’s game.

“They are a young team, and they are talented,” Green said in his pregame press conference. “If you don’t take them seriously to start the game and have a level of discipline of how you approach the game, you can run into trouble real quick,”

Trouble is what New Orleans had over the game’s final nine minutes, as the Rockets went on a 23-13 run to cut the lead from 14 to just a point. After Ingram missed a shot, Kevin Porter Jr. was able to secure the rebound, leading to Houston’s timeout with 4.0 seconds left.

To inbound the ball, Silas elected to go with one of his better passers in forward Jae’Sean Tate. He looked things over and waited, hoping to find Porter or Jalen Green heading toward the basket.

But both options were closed off to Tate. Instead, he went with his final option of throwing the ball to Jabari Smith Jr. in the backcourt, who methodically advanced his way past midcourt.

Smith clapped his hands at a rapid pace, signaling Tate to pass him the ball. When he received it, he took two dribbles to his right and rose above 6-foot-7  forward Naji Marshall and buried a 3-pointer, giving the Rockets a 114-112 lead with 0.4 seconds remaining. That shot provided Houston with the winning margin after the Pelicans failed to inbound the ball over Marjanovic’s outstretched arms.

“I wasn’t the first option. But as the first few options weren’t open, I just flashed to the ball and just trusted myself,” said Smith, whose game-winning basket was his only shot attempt in the fourth quarter.

“I felt like I was in a video game. It was crazy. It was like I didn’t see anybody else. The gym went blank; it was just me and him. It was a special moment, for sure.”

Houston (18-52), which is now on its first three-game winning streak of the season, will look to extend its winning streak to four games when they face the Pelicans again on Sunday at Toyota Center. New Orleans (33-37) remains in the Western Conference playoff race.

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WATCH: Boban Marjanovic scores season-high for Rockets

Veteran big man Boban Marjanovic may be known best in 2023 for his commercials. But on Sunday, he scored a season-high 10 points (80% FG) in only six minutes. #Rockets

Veteran NBA big man Boban Marjanovic may be known best in 2023 for his State Farm commercials. But on Sunday, the 34-year-old scored a season-high 10 points for the Houston Rockets in six minutes, and he did so on efficient 4-of-5 shooting (80.0%).

For obvious reasons, those numbers are a footnote on a night that will be remembered for Portland’s Damian Lillard scoring a career-high 71 points, which was the most in Trail Blazers franchise history and the most by any player against the Rockets in club history.

Nonetheless, for fans of the lovable 7-foor-4 giant from Serbia, it became a memorable night for other reasons.

In 2022-23, Marjanovic has largely served as a non-playing veteran influence in the locker room for the Rockets, who are evaluating younger prospects like Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba at center.

But on occasion, head coach Stephen Silas finds a matchup he thinks Marjanovic’s size could be effective against — at least on the offensive end — and Portland was apparently one of those.

Here’s a look back at his top highlights from Sunday.

Takeaways: Damian Lillard scores career-high 71 as Blazers best Rockets

All-Star guard Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points against the Rockets, including 41 in an epic first half, as Portland cruised to victory on Sunday night.

All-Star guard Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points on Sunday, including 41 in an astonishing first-half outburst, leading the host Trail Blazers to a 131-114 win (box score) over the young and rebuilding Rockets. Houston (13-47) continues to hold the NBA’s worst record and has now lost nine straight games.

In his historic game, Lillard connected on 22-of-38 shots (57.9%), 13-of-22 from 3-point range (59.1%), and went 14-of-14 on free throws. His total of 62 points was the most by any player in Trail Blazers history and the most by any player against the Rockets in team history.

The Rockets were again without usual starting guards Kevin Porter Jr. (left foot contusion) and Jalen Green (left groin strain).

Among Houston players who did play, key performances were:

  • Alperen Sengun: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists; 8-of 16 shooting (50.0%)
  • Daishen Nix: 16 points (career high), 2 assists; 7-of-19 shooting (36.8%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.7%)
  • Tari Eason: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists; 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 1-of-1 on 3-pointers
  • KJ Martin: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%)
  • Jae’Sean Tate: 16 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds; 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%)
  • Boban Marjanovic: 10 points, 3 rebounds in 6 minutes; 4-of-5 shooting (80.0%)

Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interview reaction. Next up for Houston, starting Tuesday, is a tough back-to-back at home versus Denver and Memphis — currently the top-two seeds in the Western Conference. Both tipoffs are at 7 p.m. Central.

Season of giving: Rockets give back with holiday events around Houston

Jalen Green, Eric Gordon, Tari Eason, Boban Marjanović, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter Jr. are among #Rockets players giving back with community events this holiday season.

The Houston Rockets, their partners at Kroger and numerous players hosted Season of Giving events this holiday season.

On Dec. 14, the team hosted a holiday shopping event for families from Target Hunger, Wounded Warrior Project and Latter Deliverance Revival Church at the Kroger’s store on Studemont Street near downtown Houston. Rockets forward Tari Eason and center Boban Marjanović were on hand to present those families with gift cards, courtesy of Kroger, and to assist them with shopping.

During the Dec. 17 game vs. Portland, the Rockets and Kroger hosted a holiday party for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston. The children enjoyed the game from holiday-themed suites and were presented with gifts, in addition to Kroger gift cards for their families.

In recent days, the Rockets’ Christmas activities have included Jalen Green’s holiday bowling event for families from Julia C. Hester House on Sunday, Dec. 18; Eric Gordon’s holiday party for families at Ronald McDonald House Houston on Thursday, Dec. 22; and separate events by Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate.

Scroll on for further details and highlights from each of these holiday events, along with accompanying photos and videos.