Prior to getting injured last season, Tari Eason and the Houston Rockets were threatening to be a play-in tournament team in the Western Conference. The run that this organization went on during the second half of the season was remarkable, which is why there is a lot of hype surrounding Houston heading into the 2024-25 season. Even though Eason is ready to turn a new leaf heading into his third season, the drama surrounding him and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green looms large.
It seems like many players around the league have issues with Green, who is never afraid to speak his mind on the court. In terms of this new, budding rivalry between Eason and Green, this drama was forged off the court last season when the young Rockets forward posted a video on Instagram of him shouting, “Warriors! Come out to play!”
Eason took to social media last season when the Rockets and Warriors were fighting for the final play-in tournament spot over the final weeks of the regular season. Ultimately, the Warriors claimed this spot, eliminating Houston from postseason contention.
In an offseason interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Eason discussed his mindset entering the 2024-25 season, which ultimately circles back to what happened with Green calling him out last year.
“I don’t have too many words on that,” Eason said when questioned about what he has to prove entering Year 3. “I’m going to let my game do the talking. A lot of stuff has been said, a lot of ways people view me, I hear it all. But I’m not here to prove anything.”
When asked about his situation with Draymond based on the social media post, Eason kept things simple with Iko: “Yeah, just the outside noise. It doesn’t matter to me. Even as far as the Draymond (Green) thing, I was hurt and it was unfortunate that I couldn’t be out there to support my guys, but I didn’t even want that thing to blow up as much as it did. At the end of the day, you gotta put your money where your mouth is. It didn’t happen for us, but it’s fuel to the fire.”
Tari Eason's growth with Rockets
If there is one team primed to take a massive step forward next season, it is the Rockets. Aside from having young talents like Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr., Houston has plenty of depth on their bench with athletic players like Eason.
Not only did Eason have a really solid rookie campaign during the 2022-23 season, but he was on the verge of being even better during his “sophomore” season. Unfortunately for him and the Rockets, Eason's season was cut short to just 22 games because of injuries. So far in his career, the 23-year-old has averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor.
Between all the youthful talents the Rockets have and minimal minutes to go around, Eason is going to have to really prove himself once again during the offseason in order to hold a solidified role with the team during the 2024-25 season.
Despite the outside noise surrounding him and Draymond, Eason is ready to flip the page on the next chapter of his young career. Eason has put himself out there as a result of his social media post last season, which is why he is ready to live up to the hype entering the new year.
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