Jayson Tatum’s charity golf tournament in St. Louis turned into a small Celtics reunion on Monday, with several familiar faces showing up for the sixth straight year of the event.
Tatum was there, of course, along with Derrick White, newly signed Mike Conley, and Daniel Theis. Seeing Theis in the mix was a bit of a surprise, given how long it had been since he’d popped up in any noticeable way. He was one of those Celtics role players who quietly stuck with you, and he even started on an Eastern Conference Finals team.
Theis spent five of his eight NBA seasons in Boston, playing in 257 games for the Celtics and averaging 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. Boston dealt him to the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2022 as part of the Malcolm Brogdon trade. Brogdon later won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award with the Celtics, while Theis was waived by Indiana after just six appearances.
He’s been back in Europe since the 2024-25 season, when he joined AC Monaco Basket, and he’s stayed there since. He also picked up a gold medal at the 2025 EuroBasket tournament, doing it alongside former Celtics teammate Dennis Schroder, who Boston had traded for him to start Theis’ second stint with the team in 2022.
Conley’s presence in St. Louis was notable for a different reason.
The veteran guard joined the Celtics earlier this month and is heading into his 20th NBA season. He’s long had a reputation as one of the league’s best teammates, and that’s backed up by the fact that he’s a two-time NBA Teammate of the Year winner, taking the honor in 2018-19 and 2023-24.
That’s part of what Boston is getting from him now: a steady veteran voice and a reliable presence for younger players. He’ll probably have a limited role on the court, but he’s already doing what he’s known for - showing up for his new team.
Last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Conley averaged 4.5 points, 2.9 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game while shooting 33.5% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range.
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What makes the idea intriguing is that Pritchards best traits have often lived in the margins of Bostons offense. He has been especially effective in isolation and on pull-up jumpers, yet previous seasons never fully tapped into that skill set. Now the Celtics seem ready to lean into it, betting that a bigger role can help smooth over the loss of Brown and keep the attack from losing too much of its punch. [Read more 🡒]