Boston Celtics: Get to know Celtics prospect Yam Madar

Boston Celtics fans always love to speculate over potential offseason additions. Well, one player, in particular, has stolen the spotlight in recent weeks — Yam Madar.

Madar was selected 47th overall by the Celtics in 2020. He spent last year playing overseas in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

The 20-year-old appeared in 30 games with Hapoel Tel Aviv, playing 33.2 minutes per game. He averaged 17.1 points, three rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.9% from the field and 40.9% from deep.

Many draft experts loved his upside during the draft last year, and that love is now resurfacing. With Boston’s expected offseason changes, he could earn a spot on the roster.

He recently announced that he would be playing for the Boston Celtics’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this summer. Madar is currently in the process of moving to Boston to begin workouts.

His potential, combined with Boston’s lack of depth at the guard position, could lead to Madar getting a shot next year. He’s received super high praise from everyone that talks about him.

Jay King of The Athletic spoke to Madar’s Hapoel Tel Aviv teammate, John Diebler, about the young guard. The 33-year-old spoke in depth about his maturity and competitiveness.

"“Yam is very mature for his age,” Diebler told The Athletic. “It’s not easy for a guy that age to kind of control the team at the professional level, especially in a top division in Israel where there’s a lot of foreign players, but Yam’s a guy who was very confident in his game. You felt his presence and that he knew he belonged if that makes sense. I think it goes back to that confidence. It’s a confidence. It’s not a cockiness. It’s a confidence where it’s like, ‘Hey, man, no matter my age, I belong here.’ ”"

It’s this experience playing overseas that could help his game translate well to the NBA scene. At 6-3, he has the size to play in the league and is taller than most of Boston’s point guard options in recent years.

In addition to experience in the Israeli League, Madar has even found success on the world stage. He and Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija led Israel to a gold medal at the FIBA 2019 U20 European Championships.

At the draft, the only big question mark regarding his game was his ability to shoot the ball. Madar shot these concerns down as soon as he possibly could.

His three-point percentage jumped from around 27% to over 40% in just one season. He was even the youngest player ever to win Most Improved Player in the Israeli League.

If he performs well in the Summer League games, the Boston Celtics don’t have much to lose by bringing him in. He’s a smart, quick point guard whose defense is revered by many.

Even if it costs them their MLE, he’s talented enough for the Cs to spend some money on him. He’d also provide some much-needed depth at the guard position.

Worst case scenario, Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard handle most of the point guard duties next year.

Best case scenario, the Boston Celtics find their point guard of the future.