BRIGHTON, MA — Change was the theme of the Boston Celtics summer season. Trades, signings, and goodbyes stole the headlines, however nestled beneath the chaos is Jordan Walsh, who the Celtics chosen with the thirty eighth choose on this yr’s draft.
Walsh started his Celtics profession with a bang, impressing at Summer season League with a flurry of three-point-heavy video games and his fixed depth taking heart stage. However because the rookie prepares for his time in Boston, he’s trying to his vets to assist him adapt.
And in flip, he’s shaped a detailed relationship with Al Horford.
“For positive, Al,” Walsh stated when requested who his go-to man on the staff is. “I used to be speaking to him earlier than draft night time. I used to be texting with him, speaking about, ‘You already know, I feel I’m gonna be a Celtic I’m excited to return work out with you.’ To have a man like him to offer me recommendation– He’s been right here for therefore lengthy, and he’s nonetheless on the high of his recreation, so there’s a lot to be taught from him.”
Horford can be coming into his seventeenth NBA season this yr at 37 years previous, whereas Walsh can be embarking on his first on the age of 19. But regardless of their near-20-year distinction in age, the 2 are already turning into fairly the duo.
“I used to be joking with him earlier,” Walsh stated with a smile. “We have been speaking about when he was going to varsity; I wasn’t born but. And I used to be like, ‘Now we’re teammates.’
“So it’s superb. I’ve talked to him about different stuff. In fact, basketball, but additionally off-the-court stuff, like ‘What go well with ought to I put on to this gala?’ Stuff like that. So he’s been a mentor for positive.”
The pair’s relationship spawned from Walsh’s bond with former NBA participant Charlie Villanueva, who related with the Celtics rookie from a younger age resulting from their journeys coping with alopecia.
“[Villanueva said], ‘Yo, he’s most likely going to return to Boston. You need to most likely discuss to him, take him below your wing as a result of he’s a very good man,’” Walsh recalled.
Whereas their paths by no means crossed within the NBA, Horford and Villanueva performed collectively on the Dominican Republic nationwide staff within the early 2010s, giving Walsh a direct line to attach along with his new Boston teammate.
Jordan Walsh says Al Horford has been his mentor all through the summer season.
He additionally likes to joke with Al about their age distinction: “We have been speaking earlier about when he was going to varsity, I wasn’t born but. And now we’re teammates.” pic.twitter.com/fhZcB7NXVU
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) October 2, 2023
“I used to be like, ‘Al Horford? He’s been right here for some time,’” Walsh remembered considering. “‘Getting buckets, enjoying nicely. Yeah, I wish to be taught from him for positive as a result of I wish to be doing this after I’m as previous as he’s for positive.’”
However simply because Horford is prepared to mentor Walsh doesn’t imply he’s prepared to let the rookie’s lack of film information slide.
“Me and Al have been speaking about this final night time. First, they informed me I don’t have my Black card as a result of I didn’t know what Friday was. So I went and watched the primary one.”
“Then I watched Boys within the Hood. Then Al informed me I wanted to look at Godfather 1 and a pair of. He was like, ‘They’re previous, they’re lengthy, however they’re so good.’ And I used to be like, ‘Okay bro. No matter you say, Al. I’m going to speculate.’ He was like, ‘When you get that, then you possibly can come discuss to me once more.’”
Walsh is an NBA participant, however he’s nonetheless a child. It was simply two years in the past that he was enjoying highschool ball, and now he’s in a brand new metropolis confronted with new challenges whereas his household resides in a totally completely different a part of the nation.
Being an NBA participant is a lifelong dream that few folks get to satisfy, however Walsh nonetheless has to face a brand new chapter of his life with out the in-person assist of the individuals who have all the time been there for him.
That’s the place Horford, Jayson Tatum, and the Celtics group have stepped up.
“They’re form of navigating me by means of this course of, serving to me extra off the court docket than on the court docket, however nonetheless on the court docket stuff,” stated Walsh. “However they’re serving to me navigate it nicely, they usually’re being my second household [for] my second dwelling.
