Christian Wood is having a great 2020/21 NBA season with the Houston Rockets. He didn’t have many expectations entering this season and has become a very good surprise for the Texan team. Wood has come a long way and after a good season with the Detroit Pistons, he signed a 3-year, $41 million deal with the Rockets.
He’s been a great player for them this season, as the Rockets appear to be recovering their best form. Amid controversies surrounding the team and James Harden, Wood has been a light at the end of the tunnel for the Rockets. It wasn’t easy for him, but he made it and now is helping one of the most famous teams in the NBA. Back in November, he talked about how hard things went for him after going undrafted in 2015, even losing his girlfriend right after that night.
Then 19-year-old, Wood believed he was going to be a late first-round pick or an early second-rounder but none of that happened. What followed were a couple of difficult hours for the player.
“I lost my girlfriend that night, too,” Wood said in an interview with The Ringer. “I dropped her off at the airport after the draft and never saw her again.”
This is about the saddest picture from an NBA Draft you'll ever see — Christian Wood realizing he's going undrafted. pic.twitter.com/be7ttxLBuT
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) June 26, 2015
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJePMVUBG5c
After that, he was cut by the Chinese team Fujian Sturgeons in 2017. That changed everything for Wood, who never gave up and kept working to fulfill his dream.
“To get cut from a team in China because they tell me I wasn’t good enough — that really tested me. That was the breaking point,” Wood said.
He’s 25 now, is living a happy life and has a very good NBA career. The big man isn’t done yet and he keeps working to get better in the association.
“I still haven’t reached my goal. I want to be an All-Star. I feel like I can be one of the top players in the league,” Wood said.
This is a very good story and an inspiration for people trying to reach a goal not only in basketball but any activity in the world. Never give up, hard work always pays off.
