David Andersen has big shoes to fill for Houston Rockets

photo by José Porras

I had not been really following NBA news recently. With the season fast approaching I started getting back into the swing of things. Unfortunately I just discovered that Yao Ming is going to miss all of the 2009-10 NBA season due to a stress fracture in his foot. He underwent surgery in July.

It is not all bad news for me as a Houston Rockets fan as David Andersen from Australia will be the replacement at centre for Houston.

Andersen had the Rockets acquire the rights to him in a trade with Atlanta on July 14 after news came through about Yao’s injury. They later announced that they were signing the Australian Olympian to a 2 year contract with a 3rd year option.

Andersen was picked up by the Hawks way back in 2002 when drafted as the 37th pick. He has played mostly in Europe and Australia with his most recent team being FC Barcelona in the Spanish League. He averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds last season. Before that he played for CSKA Moscow. Andersen started his pro-basketball career in 1998/99 with the Wollongong Hawks in the Australian NBL before moving to Virtus Bologna in 1999.

He has had a successful career winning two Italian nation championships with Bologna and another with Sienna. He also picked up four Russian titles playing for CSKA Moscow and one Spanish title with Barcelona. He also has won three Euroleague titles and was named to the All-Euroleague first team in 2005.

Let’s hope some of that success can rub off on his Houston Rocket team mates as they chase the NBA championship.

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