HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-signed free agent center Nenê. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The Rockets bring out the best in me,” said Nenê. “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.”
“Nenê 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, Nenê 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, Nenê 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.
Nenê 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.