HOUSTON — Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced Thursday that the team has signed free agent center Tyson Chandler.
Chandler (7-1, 240) was originally the second overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. In 1,134 career games with 881 starts, he has averaged 8.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.17 blocks. Chandler has the third-highest field goal percentage (.596) in NBA history among qualifiers.
The 18-year veteran began last season with Phoenix before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in early November. Chandler averaged 12.6 rebounds per 36 minutes played in 2018-19. Dating back to 2015-16, he joins Enes Kanter as the only players with more than six games played to have averaged at least 8.0 rebounds in fewer than 24.0 minutes per game. Chandler has the third-most rebounds among active players and is averaging 3.1 offensive boards for his career.
Chandler was NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12 and has been named All-Defensive Team three times (First Team once, Second Team twice). He was an All-Star in 2012-13 and earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2011-12. Chandler was the starting center for Dallas during its championship season in 2010-11 and won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2012 playing alongside James Harden and Russell Westbrook with Mike D’Antoni serving as an assistant coach.
