WATCH: Tari Eason sends in an alley-oop vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in Summer League action
Former LSU star Tari Eason was on the wrong end of a Chet Holmgren block earlier Saturday night in NBA Summer League action, as the Houston Rockets were taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not to worry, Eason redeemed himself later in the game after former Auburn forward Jabari Smith stole the ball from Holmgren, then dished it to Josh Christopher who lobbed it up at the rim for the former LSU star, and he slammed it home.
Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of work. The former LSU star has been impressive early on in Summer League action. He’s made a number of highlight plays already with his new team, including this ridiculous one-handed rebound he snagged against the Orlando Magic.
Eason saw his NBA dreams come to life after being selected in the first round of the draft. The Houston Rockets took the LSU star, being one of three SEC players the franchise drafted.
During his introductory press conference, Eason discussed why he had a chip on his shoulder throughout college. He said not being recruited really stuck with him and helped him grow into a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
“Well really, it was just a product of my work,” Eason said. “I think I worked on a lot of aspects of my game. My shooting, my ballhandling, things like that. I’ve always had a pretty good defensive mindset because of my competitive nature. You know, from high school, even before then, I wasn’t heavily recruited. So, I’ve always carried that chip on my shoulder and that real edge that’s helped me carry through.”
Eason was ranked a four-star prospect by the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services, coming out of high school. He was the No. 120 overall player and top in the state of Washington before picking Cincinnati as his school of choice.
After his one year with the Bearcats, Eason transferred to Baton Rouge and played for LSU this past season. There, he averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The Tigers made it to the NCAA Tournament this year, as Eason was named to the All-SEC team and SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.