The life of an NBA rookie can be quite a roller coaster. Ask Jordan Walsh.
One moment you're a 19-year-old kid thrown into a new city on a team overflowing with talent, and you're wondering if you'll ever get the chance to show that you belong. Then your teammates swarm you and deliver the match ball after scoring your first NBA points.
In an instant, you're pulled up on stage in front of all your former teammates and asked to perform an impromptu performance of the song Boyz II Men, which was released 13 years before you were born. The next, you're riding a boat through a sea of a million crazy Celtics fans and basking in your team's 18th world title.
The only thing with more pressure than trying to create a dance to “Motownphilly” (it had to be “Motownphilly”, right? No one should be asked to dance to “I'll Make Love to You” or “End of the Road” ”) that's just 83 minutes you'll play as a rookie, trying to prove you belong with the group, taking only 15 shots in nine appearances.
Each of these shortcomings gnaws at you. And then you go into the Summer League with a better chance to show what you can do, and you can't buy a three-point win.
That's when your coach, the same one who forced you on stage during that damn Boyz II Men show, gives you the simplest advice and some rollercoaster twists.
“(Head coach Joe Mazzulla has) a rule where you can give one concern and then you have to let it go,” Walsh explained. “So he was telling me that the most important thing is that you can offer one concern – he didn't use the word 'care', that's a different word – but yes, one concern to offer.”
To paraphrase Ralphie from “A Christmas Story,” Mazzulla didn't say “care.” He said TO word. The big one. Queen mother of dirty words. The word F-dash-dash-dash.
So Walsh does what he can to provide one, um, care and move on.
“I'm trying. I'm really trying,” Walsh said. “I'm working on it.”
Walsh surprisingly missed the first 22 three-point shots he attempted in July in the Summer League. After overcoming a slump at the end of his Vegas trip, he admitted he put too much pressure on himself during the summer exhibition. He heeded Mazzulli's advice about leaving custody and vowed to improve when the Celtics called training camp.
Walsh may have been the most pleasant surprise in the Celtics' five-game preseason that ended Tuesday night in Toronto. Walsh played a total of 104 minutes, second-most behind Payton Pritchard, and showed improvement that makes one wonder if he could be a rotational presence despite Boston's league-best team this season.
Walsh's three-point shot looked smoother (though he swears no mechanical changes were made) and connected on 36.8 percent of his attempts (7 of 19). He nearly scored the game-winner at the buzzer in Toronto, but had plenty of quality moments that could have earned him some of the remaining minutes following Oshae Brissett's departure.
Jordan Walsh plays for himself 🔥
He has 14 points and 6 rebounds pic.twitter.com/nyxxIhMJce
— Celtics w NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 14, 2024
Defense, his calling card in college, was solid. Walsh has the role of a gritty defensive player who rolls up his sleeves and does the dirty work.
Missed shots still plague him, but Walsh knows he has to do his best before moving on to the next one.
After all, there are still plenty of ups ahead of us. The Celtics season will begin Tuesday night against the New York Knicks and players will receive championship rings. Walsh spent most of the Celtics' championship parade pointing to his ring finger, while fellow boatman Luke Kornet had the crowd in a masterful froth throughout the ride.
More importantly, Walsh will sign up for the first game of his second season on Tuesday and ultimately lose his rookie title. His rookie duties were light at the start of the new season, but he didn't even benefit from the addition of two new first-year players in Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson.
“They're older than me, so I can't really tell them what to do,” Walsh shrugged.
So Walsh focuses on what he can control, like giving his all whenever the opportunity arises.
Images by Bob DeChiara-Imagn
“I hope to be a much better version of myself next year,” Walsh said. I hope I get the opportunity I want. If not, then OK. But just striving for greatness, striving to finally reach the level that I think I can reach. Maybe not this year, maybe next year, but I will make progress to reach that level.
And how might this manifest itself in court?
“Hopefully better shooting ability, better decision-making and play-making ability,” Walsh said. “When I'm in Boston, I play well every time.”
But now he knows that things don't always go according to plan. You have to be able to adapt on the fly and keep going. Sometimes a greater reward awaits us. Just like he found out on the day of the parade.
“I thought it would be a leisurely walk, a ride around town,” Walsh said. “I thought Luke would just like to relax. But he got me into it. And I said, “Okay, now we count. We interact with fans. As if he made it more and more fun…
“I think the best part was Luke starting to sing. We counted from one to 18. And when we got to 18, everyone went crazy. That was definitely the most amazing part.”
It's moments like these that make it worth experiencing all the ups and downs of the roller coaster.
