NBA Rumors: 17-Year Veteran Nene to Sign New Contract with Rockets

Houston Rockets center Nene Hilario, known best around the NBA simply as Nene, will return for his 18th NBA season.   

The Athletic's Kelly Iko reported Tuesday that Nene intends to re-sign with the Rockets. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on June 29 that the 36-year-old had declined his 2019-20 player option worth $3.8 million to become a free agent.

Nene has been in Houston since 2016, but the Brazil native's best years came as a Denver Nugget from 2002-12. Nene was a prominent starter in the Mile High City, starting all 82 games in 2009-10. In 2011, the Nuggets rewarded him with a five-year extension worth upwards of $67 million.

From there, he spent most of five seasons with the Washington Wizards before he joined the Rockets. Through every stop, he actively tried to preserve himself in order to last as many seasons as he could.

"When you have good mentors and vets to look up to, you listen to their convos," Nene told Vice Sports in Feb. 2018. "... When I was younger, they told me not to dunk as much in practice because it wouldn't count for anything extra. Dunk. Layup. Both [are] two points."

Even with that wisdom in tow, Nene has been banged up throughout his career, specifically during his time in Washington. In 2013, he disclosed that the pain associated with his plantar fasciitis was "tough enough" for him to think about ending his career, Matt Moore of CBS Sports reported.

However, Nene continues to tough it out. 

Last season, the veteran's numbers dropped. Across 42 regular-season games (two starts), he averaged just 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds—his lowest qualified numbers since the New York Knicks, who shipped him to Denver, drafted him No. 7 overall in 2002. 

The 2018-19 season ended for Nene and the Rockets when the Golden State Warriors beat them in a six-game Western Conference semifinal series.