The Celtics are moving into a new era, and Jordan Walsh wants to be one of the players who defines it.
With Jaylen Brown now gone to the 76ers, Boston is looking for answers from inside the roster, and Walsh believes he’s ready to give them one. The 22-year-old forward says his focus this season is on becoming much more dangerous on the offensive end and making himself impossible to take off the floor.
“I'm trying to change my identity offensively,” Walsh said via Sports Illustrated. “I'm trying to become a better, way better offensive player.
I'm trying to fit in situations that I didn't fit in last year. I'm trying to be the answer to the situations that they took me out of.”
Walsh’s path to this point has been a gradual climb. A five-star recruit out of Arkansas in 2022, he was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Kings before the Celtics took over his draft rights. He later signed a four-year, $7.6 million deal with Boston and spent his first seasons in a limited role, including the Celtics’ championship run, before seeing that role expand the following year.
Last season, Walsh appeared in 68 games and put up 5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 38% from 3-point range. He also made his presence felt in the playoffs, giving Boston useful minutes when it mattered.
The Celtics have already shown they’re willing to invest in him. After picking up his $2.4 million option for the 2026-27 season, the team agreed to a three-year, $15 million extension that keeps Walsh under contract through the 2029-30 season.
That new deal comes with a bigger opportunity. Walsh is expected to have a more prominent role this season, but he’ll have to earn it with Hugo Gonzalez emerging and Chris Cenac Jr. arriving through the draft. Walsh has been thinking about that competition while he trains, and he says the work is aimed at making him the first name Boston turns to when a possession gets tight.
“When those moments come, I want to always be the best option. I want to be the best choice,” Walsh said. “[That means] working on my shot, working on my handle, working on creating my own shot when I have those pockets.”
His numbers from last season back up the case that he’s trending in the right direction: 68 games, 25 starts, 17.8 minutes per game, 5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks, plus shooting splits of 50.9% from the field, 38.4% from deep and 77.2% at the line.
For Boston, the next step is obvious: somebody has to take a bigger swing. Walsh is making it clear he wants that swing to be his.
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