Boston Celtics: Carsen Edwards player comparison

Coming into the 2019-20 season, the Boston Celtics are chock full of highly touted rookies. Here, we will discuss which NBA player (currently rostered or not) most resembles each of the team’s young bucks. Today’s rookie: Carsen Edwards.

Though he may have fallen to the second round of this past June’s draft, Boston Celtics’ rookie Carsen Edwards has managed to capture the attention of both fans and players alike.

During this year’s Las Vegas Summer League the combo guard played as good as anyone participating in the tournament as, per 36 minutes, he put up a whopping 29.8 points per game while shooting 46.7% from deep and netted a true shooting percentage of 64.3%. With his level of play, the 21-year-old earned himself a four year, $4.5 million guaranteed contract with the Celtics.

Throughout his three year stint with the Purdue Boilermakers, Edwards proved himself to be one of the most menacing offensive weapons at the collegiate level. In his final season, the guard put up impressive averages of  24.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals and found himself earning second-team All-American honors.

If not for his smallish stature (6-0, 199-pounds), coupled with his relatively underwhelming distributing skills (2.5 career assists average), Carsen Edwards very well could have found himself being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. However, due to these aforementioned reasons, the guard slipped to the second round and ultimately was chosen 33rd overall by the Philadelphia 76ers who then traded his rights to the Boston Celtics.

Now, coming into the 2019-20 season, fans are expecting big things from Edwards, as he very likely will find himself being a consistent contributor off the pine in year one. As for who the rook’s game most resembles, Nate Robinson seems to be the players who comes to mind.

Carsen Edwards Highlights

Collegiate Career Statistics: 17.8 PPG, 2.9 APG & 3.4 RPG

Nate Robinson Career Highlights

Career Statistics: 11.0 PPG, 3.0 APG & 2.3 RPG

Outside of the fact that Edwards has about 3-inches on Robinson (5-9), the two players are very similar in their play style. Like Edwards, Nate Robinson is a small guard who seemingly has no trouble finding a way to collect a bucket. Both have proven to be capable of creating space with their crafty handles and, despite their smaller statures, have shown an affinity to drive the lane.

As you can see in the videos provided, Edwards and Robinson seem fearless when going up against bigs while attacking the paint, as they posses an amble amount of layup packages and enough bounce to finish at the rim.

While both guards enjoy charging the basket as well as thriving in the midrange game, they also have shown their ability to step out beyond the arc and knock down 3-pointers at quite a consistent rate — 37% for Edwards and 36% for Robinson).

Though Robinson is currently not signed by an NBA franchise, make no mistake about it, the point guard has consistently made an impact when collecting minutes in the association. The 35-year-old has made a career for himself as a fantastic offensive spark plug off the bench, similar to what we envision Edwards’ role to be for the Boston Celtics in year one.

Throughout his career, Robinson has always provided instant offense and consistent hustle that has captivated fans from each franchise he’s suited up for — Boston being one of them.

At the young age of 21, Carsen Edwards still has plenty of time to mold his game into whatever way he so pleases. However, at the moment, the combo guard’s play style compares most similarly to that of Nate Robinson’s.

Not a bad comparison for a second round pick!