Undrafted center N’Faly Dante will join the Houston Rockets prior to summer league on a two-way contract, according to media reports after Thursday’s second round of the 2024 NBA draft.
Now 22 years old, Dante is a massive presence at 6-foot-11 and 260 pounds. In 31.5 minutes per game at Oregon, he averaged 17.0 points (69.5% FG), 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.7 steals.
“He made [most] of his shots, rarely shooting from the perimeter, but finishing aggressively around the rim in pick-and-roll or off offensive rebounds,” Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes.
Dante joins Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 overall pick from Wednesday’s first round, as the initial two summer-league participants for the Rockets. Houston traded out of its second-round pick, flipping it to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal for AJ Griffin.
Summer-league play will open for Dante, Sheppard, and the rest of the Rockets on Friday, July 12 versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Tipoff from Las Vegas will be at 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN.
Houston’s complete summer-league roster and schedule will be released in the coming days, with a mini-camp set for early July.
N'Faly Dante is 22 years old and has great size — 6-foot-10 without shoes and a 7-foot-6 wingspan. Very active defender and strong defending pick-and-rolls. He averaged 17.0 ppg, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 steals as a senior at Oregon.
The knock is he's had knee issues… https://t.co/6c2RlbUdrf pic.twitter.com/wR5fT6a4uG
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) June 27, 2024
