NO STOPPING HIM
Adversity has been rocket fuel for former Buckeye Tate
“It’s just pretty awesome to look back and look through all the adversity, all the doubts about how far I could come and just being here, I’m grateful for those lows because it made the highs so much better.” Jae’sean Tate Former Buckeye basketball player on his path to the NBA
CLEVELAND – Jae'sean Tate can hear the yells from the bench when he gets the ball. They're the same ones he heard at Pickerington Central, the ones that were repeated from Big Ten opponents and eventually carried overseas. ● “He's going left!” they yell out. ● It wasn't enough to stop the now-6-4, 230-pound Tate from becoming a secondteam all-state player as a prep junior. It didn't hold him back from earning at least one All-big Ten honor during each of his four seasons at Ohio State.
And now, somewhat improbably, they still can’t stop him at the highest level of professional basketball. In his second season with the Houston Rockets, Tate is cementing himself as a bona fide NBA player with an expanding game.
But yes, he still is probably going left.
“It’s pretty funny when I still continue to do it,” Tate, seated along the baseline at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, told The Dispatch after a recent morning shootaround. “I don’t know how people forget.”
The list of obstacles that should’ve prevented Tate from making an NBA roster, much less sticking on one, is lengthy. An undersized post player in college whose hustle and grit allowed him to rise above his station, Tate earned a 2018 NBA summer league invitation from the Milwaukee Bucks but suffered a broken pinky finger on his right hand during his final workout. He landed a tryout contact in Belgium, played it into a full-season deal while helping the Antwerp Giants reach the Champions League while averaging 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists and returned to the United States to suit up for Denver in the 2019 summer league.
He lost a game due to an earthquake, received a fall camp invitation from Oklahoma City but signed to play in Australia for the Sydney Kings. A second standout professional season came to a screeching halt when COVID-19 shut the world down and also canceled some of the spring NBA workouts Tate had lined up. Even a planned appearance in that summer’s The Basketball Tournament, designed to help keep his profile high, was shut down when he contracted the virus.
Fast-forward four months, and Tate had signed with the Rockets as an undrafted free agent.
“It’s just pretty awesome to look back and look through all the adversity, all the doubts about how far I could come and just being here, I’m grateful for those lows because it made the highs so much better,” he said.
As a rookie, Tate started 58 games for Houston, averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and was named to the NBA’S all-rookie first team. The other four members were top-20 draft picks.
“I have (wow) moments every day,” Tate said. “Every day is a blessing and every day is a surreal moment for me that I get to wake up and put on clothes with the NBA logo on them and play for the Houston Rockets and travel from city to city and people know who you are. It’s just awesome.”
On this Wednesday morning, Tate is particularly excited for that evening’s game against the Cavaliers. After playing in empty arenas last season during the pandemic, this will be the first time Tate gets to play in his home state with his family in attendance. More than a dozen family members are expected, from his grandparents to his dad, Jermaine, also a former Buckeye.
When he is the fourth starter announced, Tate is the only Houston player to receive a smattering of applause. Before the opening tip, he takes the ball from the referee, spins it in his hands, nods his head and gives it back with a smile. With Tate standing next to Cleveland’s
Lauri Markkanen, the No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, the game gets underway and the ball finds its way to the former Buckeye on the first possession.
Tate goes left, driving around Markkanen, getting to the rim and flipping a left-handed scoop shot that doesn’t fall. It’s a sign of what’s to come for the Rockets, who are absent their top four scorers (Tate is fifth) and will be no match on this night for this Cavs team.
“It’s always great to come back home and be able to play in front of friends and family,” Tate said postgame. “It was great. It was dope. I’m happy they got to experience an NBA game. Most of them haven’t been to a game I’ve been able to play in.”
Otherwise, it was a rough night for the Rockets. With a home game the next night against New York, Tate plays 28:40 and finished with 12 points and six rebounds in a 124-89 loss. During the game, coach Stephen Silas had to leave the bench for dehydration, leaving assistant coach John Lucas to fill in for the remainder of the contest.
“Truly a quality pro,” Lucas said of Tate. “He knows what it is to get better and better. Tonight was tough because they had length on him. Jae’sean is what you build a team around. He’s what you call a culture guy, and he’s a great asset to our team.”
Averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as of Dec. 21, Tate is in the final year of a two-year deal signed with the Rockets in November 2020. In August, the team fully guaranteed his $1.52 million salary for 2021-22.
What lies ahead is unknown, but for a player who didn’t get to the league until he was 25, there’s still plenty of work, well, left.
“You’ve still got to have a chip on your shoulder because as hard as it was to get here, it’s easier to get out of here,” Tate said. “Once you’re out of here, it’s very hard to get back in. it’s almost impossible to get in, but to come back is almost impossible. That’s what I just remind myself is that I want to be here for a long time.” ajardy@dispatch.com @Adamjardy