We recently wrote about the best second-rounders at NBA 2K24 Summer League and we should have included Boston’s Jordan Walsh.
Walsh, who played one season at Arkansas before he was selected at No. 38 overall by the Celtics in the 2023 NBA Draft, has played incredibly well so far in Las Vegas.
The rookie had 18 points (6-of-11 FG, 4-6 3P) in his first performance while at NBA Summer League, adding five rebounds as well as two steals and one block.
His second game wasn’t as impressive but in his third, he has 25 points (10-of-20 FG) while knocking down two more 3-pointers. He added eight boards, two assists and one steal during the win over the Lakers.
Jordan Walsh was doing work tonight for the Celtics!
The rookie out of Arkansas put up 25 PTS and grabbed 8 boards! 💪#NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/O8NvpbVtTm
— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2023
The forward averaged 7.1 points per game and shot 27.8 percent on 3-pointers as a freshman at Arkansas. He never managed to score more than 18 points in a single game while in college.
He is currently averaging 18.3 points per game while shooting 36.8 percent for the Celtics. So what is the biggest difference for Walsh now that he has turned pro?
The answer, without question, is floor spacing. Adam Spinella has more on his excellent Substack newsletter (via The Box and One):
“The Razorbacks, for all their top-tier talent, lacked floor spacing. Everyone got exposed as a result, though Walsh’s role as a non-shooter became actively harmful to whatever spacing they were trying to create. He would be absent during big moments and only played about 24 minutes a game.
Yet the Razorbacks were clearly better with Walsh on the floor. Analytically, his minutes rate out as some of the most positive on the team. He makes winning plays, creates extra possession, is a legitimate connective passer, and knows how to combat some of his limitations.”
Arkansas ranked below the 10th percentile in floor spacing last season, per Shot Quality. That was the lowest from any team of any collegiate player drafted. The Razorbacks ranked 358 out of 363 in percentage of points from 3-pointers last season, via KenPom.
With such poor floor spacing, it made it especially challenging for Walsh to find a rhythm on his jumper. He was 24-of-89 (27.0 percent) on jump shots at Arkansas, per Synergy.
Walsh’s shot quality was totally fine but his looks weren’t connecting. Among all drafted players, he recorded the third-worst Synergy Shot Making (SSM), which measures points per shot above expectation.
As noted in this scouring report on Walsh provided by The Swish Theory, “most of these positive clips feature Walsh operating with plenty of space” and he can otherwise feel a bit out of control.
Bleacher Report lead scout Jonathan Wasserman observed that Walsh is now doing a “great job of finding the extra space that wasn’t there” last season. He has more room to create magic in driving lanes and hit uncontested shots.
Jordan Walsh will do well in Boston. I think NBA spacing + growing into his shot will do wonders for him. Gonna be a dog on D early on #BleedGreen
— Mavs/Magic Draft AKA NBADraftFilm on IG/Threads (@MavsDraft) June 23, 2023
Walsh isn’t going to suddenly turn into Klay Thompson as a rookie.
But if he is playing this well with NBA spacing at summer league, we can expect that it will continue to improve in minutes playing alongside stars like Jayson Tatum.
This already looks like a tremendous value pick by Brad Stevens and the Celtics.
