Former Rockets Center Daniel Theis Competing With Boston Celtics In NBA Finals

Theis began the season with the Rockets.

Jeremy Brener | Jun 2, 2022

While the Houston Rockets sit on the sidelines for this year's NBA Finals, a familiar face is set to take center stage.

Former Rockets center Daniel Theis could see some action this series for his Boston Celtics as they take on the Golden State Warriors.

Last offseason, Theis signed a four-year, $35.6 million with the Rockets to be the team's veteran presence in the frontcourt. However, lineups with Theis proved to be an awkward fit and he was phased out of the rotation in favor of playing Christian Wood and rookie Alperen Sengun.

During his Rockets tenure, Theis played 26 games (21 starts) and averaged 8.4 points per game to go with five rebounds.

Ultimately, the Rockets looked to move Theis and found a home back in Boston at the NBA Trade Deadline.

Theis began his NBA career in Boston back in 2017 as a 25-year-old with experience playing professionally in Germany, his home country.

Theis worked his way up to a starting role with the Celtics and played an important role during the 2019-20 season. In the NBA bubble, Theis started all 17 games in the Celtics' playoff run, which ended in an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Miami Heat.

This time, the Celtics were able to beat the Heat and take that extra step but Theis took a step back with Robert Williams' role increasing. Theis did not play in Games 5-7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

No matter how large of a role he plays during this year's Finals, Theis marks four straight years of former Rockets in the NBA Finals.

In 2019, Jeremy Lin and Kyle Lowry won a ring with the Toronto Raptors. In 2020, Dwight Howard won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. Last year, P.J. Tucker won his first NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Will Theis keep the streak going?

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Published Jun 2, 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.