Houston Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate Shows Off Premier Professionalism

Jae'Sean Tate played a season-high 18 minutes in the victory over the Clippers despite spending most of the season playing spot minutes near the end of games. His increased playing time came as the Rockets were missing Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason. Tate contributed six points, four rebounds, one steal, and, of course, drew a charge.

Despite not playing for most of the season, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Tate was a plus-12, and a big reason for the win, as this is the type of professional Tate has been his entire career.

Tate finally got his chance after signing with the Houston Rockets, marking the culmination of a long journey to the NBA. He first made a name for himself at Ohio State, where he played all four seasons. In his senior year, he earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

It didn't take him long to make his mark in the league. In Tate's first game, he played 37 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.

This marked the beginning of the end for the James Harden era with the Rockets and the start of the team's rebuild. Although the Rockets faced significant challenges throughout the season following Harden's trade, Tate was still selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Tate was only the second player in NBA history to make the All-Rookie Team after going undrafted. As the Rockets started to add high draft picks and eventually veterans in Fred VanVleet and Dillon BrooksTate's role on the team began to change.

Tate's playing time has dropped significantly from 29.2 minutes per game in his rookie season to a career-low of 5.9 minutes this season. Despite this drastic reduction, he has never complained about his minutes or demanded a trade. During the rebuilding years, Tate was the most consistent player on the team, always giving his best effort in every game.

Tate may not receive playing time for weeks at a stretch, but despite this lack of opportunity, he remains the kind of teammate that every franchise needs. The saying "If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready" perfectly sums up Tate's approach to the game.

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