Caleb Grill used the Celtics’ Summer League finale to make himself impossible to ignore.
With Boston taking an egalitarian approach in Saturday’s consolation game against the Orlando Magic in Las Vegas, Grill got the kind of runway he hadn’t seen much earlier in the event. He made it count.
In 22 minutes, he led the Celtics with 18 points in a 103-97 loss, knocking down 6 of 12 shots overall and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. He also chipped in three rebounds and an assist.
For a player trying to earn another shot with an NBA organization, that kind of showing matters. Grill was not an obvious candidate for major minutes in the earlier games, but the Celtics gave him a larger role on Saturday and he responded with the sort of energetic, shot-making performance that fits his profile.
Grill is 26 and entering his second season of professional basketball after a long college path that took him through Iowa State, UNLV, back to Iowa State for two more years, and then Missouri. At Mizzou, he was SEC Sixth Man of the Year in his final season, a nod to the same sparkplug style he brought to Boston’s Summer League group.
He spent the 2025-26 season in the G League, splitting time between the Windy City Bulls and Greensboro Swarm. A performance like this one should at least put him back on the radar for another G League opportunity this season, whether that comes with the Maine Celtics or somewhere else.
The NBA road is still a steep one, but Grill has the one trait that keeps opening doors: he can shoot the basketball.
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