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Houston Rockets star hits out at disrespect, and it’s not Kevin Durant

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Aikansh Chaudhary | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Houston Rockets have an uphill battle to climb during the 2025-26 NBA season.

Despite being the second seed in the Western Conference last season and adding Kevin Durant to the roster in the offseason, the Houston Rockets are set up for a tough campaign.

The biggest reason is the torn ACL injury of Fred VanVleet that’ll likely keep the veteran point guard out for the season.

But let’s put that on the back burner for a second and focus on what Rockets forward Tari Eason wrote on his official X account.

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

Tari Eason snaps at disrespect, makes sarcastic ‘luck’ tweets

ESPN recently released its full top 100 NBA players for the 2025-26 season. There were some surprise picks on the list.

The list includes ranking Victor Wembanyama over Anthony Edwards, but another surprising pick was Eason’s snub.

For context, Eason wasn’t even ranked among the top 100 players for the upcoming season. This disrespect led to Eason blowing up in anger on X.

“If I play 24 minutes and average 12… it must have just been luck, I guess,” Eason tweeted.

But the Rockets forward wasn’t finished, as he wrote in another tweet: “If I come off the bench and average the most off it in the playoffs, it must have just been luck, I guess. Top 10 in stocks. I must just be out here getting lucky, y’all.”

If I come off the bench and average the most off it in the playoffs.. it must of just been luck I guess. Top 10 in stocks.. I must just be out here getting lucky yall
— Tari Eason (@TAR13ASON) September 26, 2025

As the Rockets forward mentioned, Eason secured the No. 8 spot on the 2024-25 season stock (Steals + Blocks) leaders with 2.53.

Tari Eason is likely sacrificing individual stats for team success

During the 2024-25 season, Eason featured in 57 games for the Rockets, but he started in only 16 games.

The primary reason behind it is head coach Ime Udoka preferring Jabari Smith Jr. as the starting power forward over Eason.

2024-25 NBA Season Stats	Tari Eason	Jabari Smith Jr.
Points	12.0 PPG	12.2 PPG
Rebounds	6.4 RPG	7.0 RPG
Assists	1.5 APG	1.1 APG

The two stars averaged identical numbers last season, but the key difference was minutes per game. Eason averaged 24.9 MPG while Smith Jr. played in 30.1 MPG.

Keeping that in mind, Eason getting snubbed from ESPN’s top 100 is shocking. Moreover, the Rockets’ coaching staff should probably reconsider Smith Jr.’s starting spot on the roster.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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