Boston Celtics: The rise of Javonte Green

The Boston Celtics 26-year-old rookie Javonte Green is proving his worth in limited action.

It’s shocking that Javonte Green has never had a true NBA opportunity before he crossed paths with the Boston Celtics. After going un-drafted in 2015, and years of playing overseas, Green is finally getting his shot at an NBA career.

In 2015, Javonte Green joined the LEB Plata of the Spanish third division. During his rookie year, Green averaged 18 points and 6.7 rebounds per game; which earned him league MVP honors. The following season, Green would join an Italian basketball league, where he would average 18 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Green has taken advantage of every opportunity he’s had with the Boston Celtics since Summer League, and isn’t taking any of this experience for granted. Since then, Green has earned the one available open roster spot over Max Strus, and has worked his way into a seven minutes-per-game player, with the last three outings logging a solid 13 minutes.

Considering the athleticism and explosiveness of Javonte Green, he’s expected to provide instant offense for the Boston Celtics, primarily in a role off the bench. Green has played in seven games and is averaging 3.9 points a game.

What I like about Green is that, with consideration to his great athleticism, he appears to be versatile and can play multiple positions for the C’s; which is an important factor in the Brad Stevens system.

With his impressive skills and approach to the game, Green reminds me a lot of Jaylen Brown. Respectively, we’ve seen Brown play the two, three, and four positions. I think Javonte Green can eventually become a player who can play/defend all the swing positions as well.

The un-drafted rookie is a fast, high-powered offensive player. I’ve never seen a player perform a dunk while running at full speed like Green does — it’s truly incredible.

We also saw Jaylen Brown perform a lot of dunks during his first two years, like we’re seeing so far from Javonte Green. As the season progresses and the Celtics play more games, everyone involved is still learning just how athletic and versatile the rookie is.

"“I’m getting old, so Javonte is taking my spot with the high-flying and stuff like that.” –Jaylen Brown, via. post-game"

What we’ve seen a lot of from the C’s this season is a vast rotation of personnel positioning, mostly due to the versatility and depth of the roster. With the loss of Gordon Hayward due to a broken hand, Javonte Green could prove to be a primary beneficiary of the absence.

As Javonte Green moves forward with his first NBA season, it’ll be intriguing to see just how high his ceiling could be. For now, the Boston Celtics and Brad Stevens are going to keep plugging Green in where he’ll make a successful impact.