Jordan Walsh has the tools to carve out a career as a high-level role player in the NBA and the 2025-2026 NBA season is his chance to seize that opportunity.
In Walsh’s short NBA career, there have already been a few ups and downs. From his tantalizing 2023 Summer League performance, where Walsh flashed a blend of athleticism and skill that was accompanied by his six-foot-seven height and seven-foot-three wingspan to some of the lows of standing idly by through stretches of last season, it felt like Walsh missed a chance to carve out a small role on a championship caliber team. Walsh has played 486 minutes in the NBA so far in his career. Most of which have come in garbage time. Jordan Walsh is still an unknown, and making any final judgments on what he can become as a player before he gets a real opportunity would be premature.
Last season, granted in sparse minutes, Walsh seemed to lack confidence; he was content to hang out in the corner, letting the game pass him by. To be a star role player, you need to bring energy and confidence to the court every night. Walsh appears to be finding that confidence this summer.
“I feel like I’ve come a long way with my three-point shot. I feel like if I’m open, it’s going in. And I feel like my team feels that way, and I feel like the coaching staff feels that way, too. Just trying to use that to my advantage, getting the respect of not only our guys but the defenders who close out on me, then using my athleticism to get downhill, get to the rim, kick it, cut off of that, kick it, set up ball screens, slip, whatever it is, being more athletic, being more involved.”
We saw signs of this newfound confidence at Summer League back in July. While it was an objectively bad basketball decision to get himself ejected from a game that the Summer Celtics were trying to win, it punctuated a strong Summer League campaign for Walsh, where he showed out as arguably the best player on the team. Walsh showcased his ability to knock down shots, collapse the defense, and make the right reads.
Admittedly, Summer League is not the NBA. We will see if he can carry this impact into the season. Ande Walsh played a higher usage role in Summer League than he will with the Celtics this season. Walsh understands what he needs to do in order to carve out a role on Joe Mazzulla’s team.
“Trying to switch my mentality to having what I call a high role player IQ. Just affecting the game without the ball.”
It’s hard to draw up a better environment and culture for a young player to be drafted into than the Boston Celtics. While I’m sure Jordan Walsh wished he were seeing more court time over the past two seasons, being mentored by several Hall of Fame players who have played a variety of different roles throughout their careers was a fortunate situation to find himself in. Learning how to star in your role is essential for finding success on a winning team.
“One of the biggest things was I felt like Jrue Holiday was a big piece of that, I’ve tried to take as much as I can from him”.
When in doubt. Listening to Jrue Holiday is always a good plan.
Jordan Walsh has flashed the potential to be an impact player in the NBA. It will take more than flashes to become a mainstay of Mazzulla’s rotation and to become a mainstay of the NBA. It’s exciting to hear a young player confident in the work they’ve put in, and to be excited to bring those new skills and experience to the team. It will be fun to watch Walsh try to establish himself on this new iteration of the Boston Celtics.
