Jordan Walsh exceeds expectations in NBA Summer League
Fans in Fayetteville and around the country had high expectations for Jordan Walsh coming out of high school. The five-star forward was lengthy, athletic and could handle the ball better than most forwards. Walsh looked like the prototypical "3-and-D” wing that NBA teams love.
At Arkansas, though, things weren't always easy for the 6-foot-7 forward. With the ball being in the hands of Anthony Black and Davonte Davis primarily, plus the overall lack of spacing in the college game, Walsh's abilities were limited. In 36 games, the Desoto, Texas, native averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists from 43.3/27.8/71.2 shooting splits.
One thing that consistently flourished for Walsh was his defensive ability, which was on full display for the world in the NCAA Tournament. A good showing there in addition to a strong workout with the Boston Celtics resulted in him being selected with the 38th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the aformentioned team.
In the NBA Summer League, Walsh proved what made him such a highly-regarded prospect out of high school.
In his debut against the Miami Heat, Walsh started the game and finished with 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block in 30:54 of game-time. The biggest question mark for Walsh was his three-point shooting, and he showed he was more than capable, going 4-6 from beyond the arc.
Walsh followed up his stellar debut game with another solid showing against the Washington Wizards. In just over 27 minutes of action, he scored 12 points to go along with two rebounds, three assists and one steal.
In what ended up being his best game of the NBA 2K24 Summer League, Walsh scored more points than he ever did with the Razorbacks. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, he scored 25 points off 10-20 shooting with eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in 30:35 of game action.
In his fourth NBA Summer League game against the New York Knicks, Walsh again had a solid showing. The starting forward scored 13 points off 3-11 shooting (2-5 from three) in addition to two rebounds and two assists.
Walsh ended his Summer League outings with a bang, shooting an efficient 4-8 (2-3 from three) from the field that resulted in 12 points in just 15:48 minutes on the floor. He also grabbed two rebounds and two assists in the game against the Orlando Magic.
With the Boston Celtics wrapping up their competition in the NBA Summer League, Walsh must look towards taking the next step of his professional career. He has already gained respect from the media and Celtics' fans after averaging 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists off 42.2/40.7/78.9 shooting splits in his five Summer League games.
Will he be able to crack the Celtics' rotation? If Walsh can continue shooting three's at a high level while playing his elite brand of defense, the sky is the limit for the former five-star. One thing is definitely true: Arkansas fans will be cheering the former Razorback on no matter what happens.