Jordan Walsh, the Celtics’ Rising Star, Is Learning to Tune Out the Noise - Good and Bad
BOSTON - A month ago, Jordan Walsh was just another name on the Celtics’ roster - a 21-year-old second-round pick trying to find his footing in the league. He wasn’t in the rotation, rarely saw meaningful minutes, and looked more like a developmental project than a contributor. Fast forward to today, and it’s a whole different story.
Walsh has exploded onto the scene with a stretch of eye-opening basketball on both ends of the floor. In Boston, he’s gone from afterthought to fan favorite.
Nationally, he’s starting to earn recognition as one of the most promising young defenders in the game. After the Celtics’ recent win over the Lakers, even Austin Reaves took notice, telling reporters he sees Walsh becoming “one of the best defenders in the league for many years to come.”
But while the buzz around Walsh is real - and deserved - the Celtics are making sure he doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Jaylen Brown, who sits next to Walsh on team flights, put it plainly.
“I don’t want to boost his head up too much,” Brown said, half-joking but fully serious. “I don’t want him to start getting cute. You gotta still take care of the details.”
Staying Grounded in a League That Loves Extremes
That mindset - staying even-keeled no matter what’s being said about you - has been a consistent message from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. It’s something he’s emphasized repeatedly since taking over, and it’s become a core part of how the Celtics approach player development.
After winning the 2024 NBA title, Mazzulla was asked how he handled the emotional rollercoaster of a season filled with both praise and criticism. His answer was telling: “If someone tells you, ‘Good job,’ that’s just as dangerous as someone telling you, ‘You suck.’”
That philosophy is being put to the test this season, especially with a wave of young players stepping into bigger roles.
Josh Minott, 22, has gone from averaging just six minutes per game with the Timberwolves last season to nearly 20 a night in Boston. He even started for a nine-game stretch earlier this year and has quickly become a fan favorite for his energy and versatility.
Neemias Queta, 26, has made a leap of his own - from fourth-string big to the Celtics’ starting center. It’s been a rapid rise, and one that’s required him to stay mentally locked in through the ups and downs.
Then there’s rookie Hugo Gonzalez, who is logging his first NBA minutes, and second-year forward Baylor Scheierman, who spent most of last season in the G League but is now averaging 12 minutes per game with the main squad.
For Mazzulla, managing the emotional side of the game is just as important as teaching Xs and Os.
“When you have young players, you have to have all those conversations,” he said at practice on Saturday. “It’s stuff that happens in life. But I think our guys here - we have a good culture and atmosphere of that mental performance - to be able to work through that.”
Mental Resilience: A Key Piece of Player Development
Mazzulla is clear: player development isn’t just about shooting mechanics, defensive rotations, or reading the pick-and-roll. It’s also about how players manage the emotional swings of an 82-game season.
“Everyone talks about player development as skills on-court,” he said. “But what you’re talking about is a piece of player development as well - how you handle those things throughout the season.
It’s not just the praise, too. It’s handling not playing well.
It’s handling, ‘Can you bounce back?’”
That’s a lesson Baylor Scheierman knows well. Last season, he was mostly tucked away in Maine with the Celtics’ G League affiliate. But when he got his chance late in the year, he made the most of it with some hot shooting and solid minutes off the bench.
Now in his second year, Scheierman is learning that consistency - both in performance and mindset - is the name of the game.
“If you do play well, or you don’t play well, or you play a lot, or you don’t play a lot, you kind of just take it for what it is and move on to the next game,” he said.
Payton Pritchard: A Veteran Voice on Riding the Waves
If there’s anyone on the roster who understands the emotional highs and lows of the NBA, it’s Payton Pritchard. Last season, he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year - a breakout moment that came after years of grinding for minutes.
This season, he’s already lived both ends of the spectrum. He opened the year in a brutal shooting slump, hitting just 18% from three over the first seven games. But he’s also had some monster performances, including a 42-point night against the Cavaliers.
Through it all, Pritchard has learned not to get too high on the good or too low on the bad.
“When you’re playing well, you definitely want to - not like, soak in it, but you want to appreciate it,” he said. “Because you want to acknowledge that ‘I’m playing well.’
And then when you’re playing bad, obviously, people are going to tell you, and it’s not something you want to dwell on. But you can acknowledge: ‘I am playing bad, I can acknowledge I need to be better.’
So it’s a balance.”
That balance is what Mazzulla wants all his players - especially the younger ones - to master.
“We always say, the greats are able to suck for a quarter, and they come right back,” Mazzulla said. “They suck for four possessions, they come right back.
How quickly can you get back to being yourself - as an individual, as a team? It’s just good learning experiences.”
The Bigger Picture
For Jordan Walsh and the rest of Boston’s emerging young core, the message is clear: talent opens the door, but mindset keeps you in the room.
The NBA season is long. Praise will come, and so will criticism.
The key is not letting either define you. And in Boston, that’s not just a mantra - it’s part of the culture.