HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the
team has re-signed free agent center Nene. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The Rockets bring out the best in me,” said Nene. “I love the entire
organization from my teammates and coaches, to management and ownership. We have
great leader in James Harden and will continue to work hard to bring another
championship to Houston.”
“Nene was a big part of our success last season, especially in the playoffs,”
said Morey. “He is a true professional and we are fortunate to have him remain a
Rocket.”
In his first season as a Rocket, Nene appeared in 67 games with eight starts,
while averaging 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game. Dating
back to 1979-80, he was one of three players with at least 40 games played to
have averaged at least 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in fewer than 18.0 minutes
per game in a single season.
Over his final 27 games played, Nene averaged 11.4 points on 63.9% shooting
after averaging 7.5 ppg on 59.5% shooting his first 40 games played. He also
averaged 5.2 rebounds over his final 21 games played, up from 3.7 rpg his first
46 games played.
Nene has the seventh-highest field goal percentage (.548) among active players
and would have ranked fifth in the NBA in 2016-17 had he qualified (.617).
During the 2017 playoffs, he shot 70.6%, including 12-of-12 from the floor in
Game 4 of the First Round series vs. Oklahoma City. That tied the NBA playoff
record for the most field goal attempts without a miss.
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