Former long-term member of the Boston Celtics, Daniel Theis, is not coming home. Instead, he is staying in France.
After spending the 2025-26 season with Monaco, the former Celtics center is reportedly set to join ASVEL Villeurbanne, remaining in the French league with a new club and hoping to upgrade in the process, one that is hopefully not burdened by financial problems as Monaco were. It is the latest move in a career that has taken him from Germany to the NBA and back to Europe, where it now appears that he will stay.
Theis’s NBA Career
Theis arrived in Boston in 2017 as a minimum-salary free agency signing after establishing himself as one of the top players in Germany. Going undrafted in 2013 and already 25 years old, he was not viewed as a major signing, but he quickly earned a role in the Celtics’ rotation.
Over two separate stints with Boston, he appeared in 257 regular-season games and averaged 7.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He started 112 of those games, and was a regular contributor on Celtics teams that reached multiple Eastern Conference Finals.
Theis’s most notable season came in 2019-20. He started 64 regular-season games, averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, and then started all 17 playoff games as Boston reached the Eastern Conference Finals inside the Orlando bubble. While Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker received most of the attention, Theis played an important role in the middle, averaging 8.9 points and 7.1 rebounds during the postseason to go with tough defense, the occasional three and some vocal celebrations.
The Celtics traded Theis to the Chicago Bulls in 2021 as a part of a three team deal that saw them land Luke Kornet and Mo Wagner, but his absence from the Celtics did not last long. After a stop with the Houston Rockets, he returned to Boston via another trade in 2022, and helped the club reach another Eastern Conference Finals. The remainder of his NBA career took him to the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans, before he elected to return to Europe in 2025.
Theis’s Consistency Is His Virtue
By the time he left the NBA, Theis had appeared in 411 regular-season games and 59 playoff games. His career averages were 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He was never a high-volume scorer, but teams valued his screening, defensive positioning, versatility and willingness to play whatever role was required. Especially the Celtics.
His international career has been equally successful. Theis was part of the German team that won bronze at EuroBasket 2022 and then helped Germany capture the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the biggest achievement in the country’s basketball history.
When Theis signed with Monaco last summer, the move was seen as one of the more significant additions in European basketball. Monaco had become a regular EuroLeague contender and was looking to add NBA experience to an already talented roster. And even though Monaco proved to be a disappointment, Theis provided what he was there to do.
Now, Theis is headed to ASVEL. The club – which has long been owned in part by San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker, but who has recently given up his ownership stake in order to become the head coach – has long been one of the biggest names in French basketball. After some difficult recent seasons, particularly in the EuroLeague, ASVEL are spending big, with Theis the biggest name to join so far, but certainly not the only one.
At 34, Theis is unlikely to be the focal point of the team. That has rarely been his role anywhere he has played. Instead, ASVEL is acquiring a player with nearly a decade of NBA experience, multiple deep playoff runs and a World Cup gold medal. In all probability, Theis’s NBA career is over, but he remains active at a high level in Europe – and is just as popular.
Former Celtics Cult Hero to Sign in France