In many cases, NBA players are at or near their peak at 25 years old. But that might not be the case with Houston Rockets center Christian Wood.

After all, the 2020-21 season was the first of Wood’s career in which he had a starting role from the outset. Moreover, of the 41 games he played, more than half came after he returned from a severe right ankle sprain.

Thus, as encouraging as Wood’s overall numbers (21.0 points, 51.4% FG, 9.6 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game) were, he might improve more in 2021-22. “I’ll be even better next season,” Wood wrote on Twitter.

Health is perhaps the biggest reason to believe in Wood’s growth. After coming back from the right ankle sprain, Wood was much less explosive near the basket. In 17 games prior to his ankle injury, Wood shot 55.8% from the field and grabbed 10.2 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per game. During 24 games after, those figures dropped to 48.3% and 9.2 rebounds in 33.1 minutes. Once Wood allows the ankle to fully heal over the offseason, the former should be more indicative of his talent level.

Head coach Stephen Silas raved about Wood’s improvement on defense as the 2020-21 season progressed, particularly from the standpoint of being sharper mentally and making quicker decisions. Considering Wood’s lack of consistent NBA playing time prior to this season, it makes sense that it took the 6-foot-10 big man extra time to get up to speed.

Yet, many of the games where Wood was at his sharpest, mentally, came after his ankle injury — meaning he was at the other end of the spectrum, physically. In 2021-22, Wood could have the best of both worlds.

Houston also learned after the March 25 trade for Kelly Olynyk that Wood was capable of playing minutes at power forward, alongside a more traditional big man. In his press conference after the season, general manager Rafael Stone said Wood’s performance next to Olynyk on the front line “confirms our belief” that he has positional flexibility.

“He’s a walking bucket,” Stone surmised.

Most importantly, even after a year in which the Rockets (17-55) finished with the NBA’s worst record, Wood also made it clear that he isn’t interested in playing anywhere else. “I love Houston,” he wrote.

That’s music to the ears of many fans, who want reasons to believe that 2021-22 will be better in Houston. Wood is at or near the top of that list.