LSU's Tari Eason Goes No. 17 Overall to the Houston Rockets in 2022 NBA Draft

Eason provides incredible two-way versatility, immediate defensive presence

LSU basketball standout Tari Eason has been selected 17th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Eason joins No. 3 pick Jabari Smith as the Rockets first round draft picks Thursday night. Smith, who took over as a freshman for Auburn last season, will give a bit of SEC grit with Eason on an up and coming Houston squad.

Pairing Eason next to 2021 No. 2 pick Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Alperen Sengun, the youngsters Houston attains shows a future of promise.

Welcome to Houston, Tari Eason 🚀 pic.twitter.com/LpUF4OSHdN

— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) June 24, 2022

The Rockets are getting a physical, two-way player in Eason. A defensive menace, he’s proven to be a do-it-all player in his lone year with the Tigers. He averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds off the bench, earning the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award during his sophomore campaign in Baton Rouge.

A semifinalist for National Defensive Player of the Year, while also maintaining that same level of success offensively, Eason molded himself into a top talent in the SEC

The Cincinnati transfer burst onto the scene rather quickly for the Tigers, playing to his role beautifully coming off the bench. As his production grew, as did NBA interest, with Eason’s name ultimately coming off the board in the first-round of Thursday’s draft.

“I think my versatility is a big strength,” Eason said at the NBA Combine. “My ability to guard all five positions, the NBA is positionless now. LSU has been nothing but helpful to me in this process so I think that when you have a program that has a rich history of players succeeding in the NBA, you can’t feel nothing but good about it.”

Eason now joins a long list of LSU hoopers to join the NBA ranks, becoming the 18th first round draft pick in Tiger history. The Rockets got their guy, with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reporting "Houston has considered Eason the best defender in the draft, taken by his ability to switch and play with aggression."