David Nwaba: Overcoming NBA draft rejection to shining for Houston Rocket’s defense
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — David Nwaba, 28, is currently a guard-forward for National Basketball Association team the Houston Rockets. Last season, he converted a respectable average of 9.2 points in 30 games for the Western Conference side. David averaged 3.9 rebounds and 10 assists from 22.6 minutes-per-game. Despite this, David’s personal accolades were not enough to keep the Houston Rockets from bottom of the table. The Rockets won only 17 out of 72 games.
With five years of NBA experience under his belt, Nwaba has many proud achievements since leaving Santa Monica College in 2013, including being selected for the NBA D-League All-Rookie Team four years later. The impressive personal stats and relentless work rate paid dividends when helping Nwaba fulfill his NBA ambitions today, but it hasn’t all been easy sailing.
Playing for the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019-20 season, David had a right Achilles injury in an away game against the San Antonio Spurs in Dec. 2019. Released early by Brooklyn the following month, it would have been easy for David to have felt down. In Oct. 2020, David told American sports media website, Nets Wire, about the difficulties he faced during rehab after his injury, “Stressful at times because I am expecting to see quick results, quick improvements. It’s a 10-to-12-month recovery and it takes time and patience.”
David’s perseverance was rewarded eight months later, with a switch to Houston Rockets.
Nwaba is no stranger to setbacks though. In 2016, the defender wasn’t selected for the NBA Draft. A relatively late starter in basketball, David didn’t meet the standards set by many Division I schools, as a young player at the time who lacked shot accuracy and was a short forward. So, what would a career have looked like outside the NBA for David Nwaba?
“The plan was to go overseas. My stats weren’t the best and I know I wasn’t getting an opportunity in the NBA knowing I didn’t get any redraft workouts (or drafted in 2016). I didn’t get the offer I would hope for, so I ended up going to the D-League (on a $150 tryout),” David explained to the NBA website.
David’s perseverance paid off when the Chicago Bulls signed him in July 2017 as a wavier claim, taking on his remaining contract from the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing in defense during his time with the Bulls, Nwaba averaged 7.1 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 1.3 steals every 36 minutes during the 2017-18 season. The Bulls’ defense was the seventh worst for goals conceded out of the 30 NBA teams. Arguably Chicago’s most reliable defensive option, the Bulls missed David’s calm presence in defense when he switched to Brooklyn the following season.
Following short spells with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2018-19) and Brooklyn Nets (2019-20), David was still looking to find his feet in the NBA while settling down at a team he could call home. Despite the 28-year-old’s lengthy injury setback and subsequent release from Brooklyn, he approached the 2020-21 season with an average of 6.9 points, 1.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds from 161 career appearances. Not a bad return from a player who made his NBA debut five years ago and still has much more to achieve during his career.
In Aug. 2020, the then-reigning Southwest division champion Houston Rockets signed Nwaba. Having played 30 times for the Rockets, David Nwaba’s season was cut short as he required wrist surgery. Almost one-year later, the Rockets released Nwaba, before making a dramatic U-turn. Having been a free agent for one hour, Nwaba was re-signed by the Rockets on a three-year contract worth $15 million. With his wrist fully healed, Nwaba returns as one of the more experienced players with Houston Rockets, who will be aiming to improve on their fifth-place finish last season. Houston Rockets kick-start the NBA regular season with an away trip to Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
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