TyTy Washington on draft night fall: "Everything happens for a reason"

Former Kentucky guard TyTy Washington simply wasn’t the same after turning his ankle in the team’s loss at Auburn back on January 22. From that point forward, he would shoot above 50 percent in a single game just twice, excluding his 1-2 effort in 13 clearly non-healthy minutes at Tennessee. He scored over 17 points just once in that same span, a 25-point performance against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.

He had brief moments, but the consistency wasn’t there. It was an end-of-season run that resulted in a fall on draft night. Despite hearing lottery grades going into the 2022 NBA Draft, Washington slipped all the way to pick No. 29 where he was selected by the Houston Rockets.

The former Wildcat admits it was tough seeing 28 other players coming off the board before hearing his name.

“Draft night was good, but I fell tremendously,” Washington told KSR in an exclusive interview this week at Peach Jam. “I didn’t think I would go that late. … I thought I was going to go lottery, thought I’d go anywhere between 9-14.”

The lottery-to-end-of-first fall was unexpected. He only worked out for the Rockets once, a last-second stop in Houston two days before the draft. Fortunately for Washington, it ended up being a good call on his end.

“Houston was my last stop,” he told KSR. “The draft was on Thursday, and I went to Houston that Tuesday. So once we got to the 29th pick, I knew Memphis was trading it, and then I got the call. They told me I was going to be a Houston Rocket.”

As stressful as draft night was, he’s confident he’s found the right fit in Houston. It’s a franchise that took a shot on him when others passed on the opportunity in earlier picks. That means something to the former Wildcat.

“Everything happens for a reason, it only takes one program to believe in you,” Washington told KSR. “The Houston Rockets, they believe in me, so I’m going to go out there and work as hard as I can.”

Now, it’s about proving those who passed on him wrong and himself right.

“Not so much to prove to everyone else, just to prove to myself,” he said. “All of the people that went before me, I know they’re not better than me, so it just matters to myself. I just have to keep thinking that way, keep that in my mind, run out there every day knowing that 28 teams skipped on me. I’m going to have to show them what they missed out on.”

His first opportunity to prove his abilities? The NBA 2K23 Summer League, where he averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 26.5 minutes per game. It was the first time he got to wear his Rockets jersey, and do so feeling “100 percent healthy” again.

“Summer League was really good, my first NBA action,” he said. “I was out there feeling 100 percent healthy again, so it felt good. And I had a Rockets jersey on. When I was walking around the hotel, people were asking who I played for, what NBA team, and I got to say the Rockets. That’s really surreal to be able to say that.”

What was he able to prove back at full strength playing against pros?

“I was able to show I have my first step again, being able to get back to the basket again, shoot my floater, showing them I have deep range,” Washington told KSR. “Pretty much just showing them what I was able to do before I got injured.”

The former Kentucky Wildcat is on a mission in year one.