When Jordan Walsh joined the Celtics as pick #38 in the 2023 NBA Draft and he was more idea than player. As a 19-year-old prospect with selling points of length, athleticism and motor, he was your textbook example of a project prospect.
Since then, the flashes have been as exciting as they’ve been rare. There were just enough moments to see the vision, but not enough consistency or playing time to feel confident about his standing in the team’s plans.
Now, Walsh is reintroducing himself as a building block with the most encouraging stretch of his young career.
Through three straight games in the rotation, he’s displayed all of the athletic traits that originally intrigued Boston. But he’s also adding to the game in less flashy ways that will ultimately extend his time on the floor.
During Media Day, Walsh mentioned several times that he worked to improve his “role player IQ” over the summer. This entails learning to thrive in a system where he’s not going to have the ball often, and finding ways to impact the game regardless.
This has manifested itself in noticeable ways like crashing the offensive glass, and high-pointing defensive rebounds. But it’s also apparent in how he’s thinking the game. This play is rather unremarkable on the surface, but it offers a glimpse at how he’s processing larger ideas like spacing and floor balance.
He beats everyone down the floor, and quickly identifies the Celtics’ numbers advantage. Boston has a 5-on-3 with Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs trailing the play, and a 3-on-2 on the strong side. Walsh initially holds the attention of Desmond Bane — who’s forced to try to cover two — and his cut makes Bane commit to Payton Pritchard, while freeing himself up. Unguarded, Walsh lets Derrick White know and plants himself in the passing lane. He’s patient enough to make Banchero commit, and then drops the easy feed to Luka Garza.
Joe Mazzulla’s teachings often revolve around his team seeking out 3-on-2’s and getting into their spacing quickly. It looks like it’s starting to click for Walsh.
On one of the biggest possessions of the night, the Magic try to trap Jaylen Brown. Instead of setting up at the 3pt line, Walsh extends out toward half-court to give Brown a lifeline. He catches, scans and fires a pass to an open White. With Orlando caught in another 3-on-2 scenario, Walsh stretches the defense and allows them very little time to recover.
There’s no hesitation or overthinking with Walsh right now, and Mazzulla is rewarding him for it. He played the entire 4th quarter against the Magic but kept enough gas in the tank to ice the game.
He rushed in for an offensive rebound, but spotted a scrambling defense and relocated back out to three. It’s the type of moment that could really supercharge the confidence of a player that already seems to be ascending.
You often see the game start to slow down for young players, but Walsh is speeding up at the same time. He’s reading and reacting, while understanding how the team wants to operate.
Walsh calls for the ball here, not for himself, but because he wants to help the team flow into an action for one of their scorers. As soon as he touches it, he’s sprinting into a handoff to activate Anfernee Simons. He sets a solid screen, and his pace kept Jonathan Isaac attached long enough to delay the switch and give Simons an opening.
This type of role player IQ shows both an unselfishness and execution of the gameplan that will keep getting his number called. When you pair that with his already useful athleticism, rebounding and defense, the vision Boston had when drafting Walsh starts to get clearer.
Along with Boston’s two other rising wings — Hugo Gonzalez and Josh Minott — the Celtics have the pop of athleticism and switchable wing defense they’ve been missing. Brown and Tatum will always be prepared to take the top defensive assignment, but these three could be the answer to lift some of that burden from their shoulders.
It is still early, and three games admittedly isn’t much of a sample. However, the decisions that Walsh is making are sustainable in terms of contributing to winning basketball. The minutes will always be available this season, but it’s a great sign that he’s been trusted with a larger role so quickly.
Walsh’s growth looks like that of a young player starting to get it. He’s finding ways to blend effort with intention, and that’s what turns spot minutes into a real role. If this version of Walsh sticks, Boston’s rotation — and maybe its future wing depth — just got a lot more interesting.