Getty Boston Celtics rookie Jordan Walsh had four words race through his mind before scoring his first NBA points.
It took Jordan Walsh 50 games to get his first NBA points. The Boston Celtics rookie from Arkansas scored his first and only bucket of the 2023-24 season on Sunday, February 4, in a 131-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Walsh’s basket came with 8:03 left in the blowout victory. He savors the moment of his first NBA hoop — a dunk that drew cheers from the TD Garden crowd. It was almost slow motion in his mind as he went up for the slam. Walsh recalls being in the air and thinking, “This is the time.”
Jordan Walsh Explains His Mindset Before His First Points
Despite Boston’s 38-12 record, Walsh only had two previous opportunities to score his first NBA points. He’s played in just three games as a member of the Boston Celtics, alternating his time between the big-league club and the Maine Celtics.
Walsh knows his playing time as a rookie on a stacked Celtics team that’s favored to win the NBA championship is limited. It’s during these blowout wins (or losses) when he’s able to strut his stuff. Against the Grizzlies, he took advantage and clearly remembers how his first basket all went down.
“We just got a stop, we just got a rebound,” Walsh said to reporters after the game. “Oshae (Brissett) was pushing it in transition. I’m taught to run to the corner. So I just sprinted out and nobody was in front of me.
“So Oshae kicked it ahead, I caught it and I saw a lane to the rim and I was like, ‘This is the time.’ And I just jumped as high as I could and just dunked the ball. After that moment, I was like, ‘I’m getting that game ball.’”
First-Point Pressure Is Now Off for Walsh
JORDAN WALSH FIRST CAREER BUCKET 🚨
As if a young rookie with the Celtics didn’t have enough pressure on him this season. Now, that he’s secured those first points — and the game ball — he no longer has to worry about deciding whether or not to selfishly shoot the ball or make the correct pass.
“At the end of the day, you’ve always got to play the right way,” Walsh said. “You always got to feed your dogs, I guess you could say. Just knowing that they trust me in that position to make the right play is the most important thing. It’s just important to make the right play every time.”
Walsh said he was able to get the game ball from a fan who caught it and sought Walsh out. He remembered a recent situation when Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 64 points and wanted the ball, but Indiana Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe also scored his first NBA points that night. He felt lucky that nobody else was trying to secure this game ball.
“I had to hawk it down,” Walsh said. “I know everybody knows the Giannis situation, where he ran into the locker room. Luckily, somebody caught it and was looking for me. We found each other, and I was like, ‘Is that it?’ He was like, ‘Yes, this is it’ and then handed it to me.”