Houston Rockets: Evaluating the progress of their 6 recent first-round picks

Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets, Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets, Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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TyTy Washington Jr. #0 of the Houston Rockets
TyTy Washington Jr. #0 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Houston Rockets: TyTy Washington

TyTy Washington left the University of Kentucky as the 29th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was originally selected by the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night. Minnesota then proceeded to trade Washington to his final destination. In Houston, Washington had a solid preseason before suffering a sprained left knee.

At this point, he is still in the process of returning from that injury and has only seen four minutes of NBA action, in which he made one free throw. Washington was sent to the G League for an opportunity to get plenty of playing time to speed up his recovery process and get him back in shape for the bigger stage.

In the G League, Washington gets to be a starter, which he would not be with the Rockets, and he is leaving quite the impression. He is putting up high-scoring numbers on the strength of good shooting and infamously dropping a defender, generating a social media buzz around his game.

https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1594879602723373056

While we have not seen Washington perform in the NBA yet, his G League play is promising and will hopefully carry over once he returns to the Rockets’ lineup.