Houston Rockets Veteran Boban Marjanovic Has a New Best Friend

Boban Marjanovic is entering his first season with the Rockets.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 9, 2022

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

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Houston Rockets

As the oldest member of the youth-focused Houston Rockets, 7-3 center Boban Marjanovic won't see the court too much this season. But that doesn't mean he won't play an important role on the team.

Every young team needs some veterans to show the rookies the ropes, and it appears Marjanovic is taking one rookie in particular under his wing.

The Rockets tweeted out a video of an interaction between Marjanovic and Tari Eason, the 17th overall pick in this summer's draft.

"This is my guard right here, best friend," Eason said as he was dapping up Marjanovic.

And Eason might be looking at more than just be Marjanovic's best friend, but replace his old one.

"No more Tobias [Harris]," Eason said as Marjanovic laughed. "Just me and you now."

Earlier in his career while with the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers, Marjanovic had a similar relationship with Tobias Harris ... and social media dubbed them "Bobi and Tobi."

"Bobi and Tari" doesn't exactly have the same ring, but the interaction shows why the Rockets are opting to keep Marjanovic on the roster rather than swap him out for a younger player with more potential. Marjanovic has shown a pattern of building strong chemistry in multiple places and has been praised in the past for being a good teammate.

In a 2020 article from The Athletic, Pistons teammate Anthony Tolliver called Marjanovic "the nicest human" he's ever met.

"He’s a special, caring, loving, upbeat guy," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "And he’s a better player than everyone thinks. But you couldn’t ask for a better professional, a better teammate, for sure."

Marjanovic and the Rockets kick off training camp later this month to prepare for the regular season, which begins Oct. 19 against the Atlanta Hawks.

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Published Sep 9, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.