A fantasy basketball darling and breakout player for the up-tempo Houston Rockets last season, Chandler Parsons was an instrumental part of the recruiting team that brought Dwight Howard to the Lone Star State. With a starting lineup of him, Howard, James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, the Rockets now look like serious contenders in the loaded Western Conference.
ThePostGame: So what text did you send to convince Dwight Howard to come to Houston?
CHANDLER PARSONS: I think it was just a combination of everybody. The team we have right now is a very good team. I basically just told him that adding him, we could be a contender right away, and we're going to win a lot of games. It wasn’t really one thing that put him over the top, just making him more comfortable.
TPG: You were a breakout star last season all-around -- points, assists, rebounds, steals -- what are you looking to improve in your game this year.
PARSONS: Just build on that: Get a little stronger, develop a bit of a post game, be more of a facilitator, get [my teammates] easy looks, get them to the foul line, and just become more of a knockdown shooter.
TPG: What’s your most memorable moment as an athlete or as a fan of sports been so far?
PARSONS: I’ve played on all different levels. In high school, winning a state championship was special. No one [had] ever done that at my high school [Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Fla.] -- I had my whole family there. It was cool. Being the first ever SEC Player of the Year at Florida was special to me, then just making the NBA that night of the draft was really special to me.
-- Follow Alex Leichenger on Twitter @AlexLeich.
