Wednesday night marked the start of chapter nine of Chris Boucher's NBA career. It's a journey that has taken him from undrafted to a two-time champion.
The six-foot-eight forward registered six points, four rebounds, and a steal in 16 minutes off the bench in the Boston Celtics' 117-116 opening night loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The game also represented a reunion of sorts between Boucher and his former head coach with the Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse. Before the matchup got underway, the latter marveled at the journey of someone who went from a high school dropout to carving out a place in the NBA.
"It was great. He had a really interesting beginning," said Nurse while reflecting on his time with Boucher. "I just got named the head coach, and he was a summer league player. We had all these big guys, like three seven-footers on the summer league team. He didn't play in the first two or three games. Then, in the third game, we said, 'Let's stick Boucher in there.' From that moment on, he had like 25 points and five blocks and hit a few threes."
As he has done throughout his life, including when he got offered the chance to play AAU basketball after leaving high school, Boucher maximized his opportunity. He parlayed that chance at Summer League into a seven-year run with the Raptors. The peak arrived when a kid who grew up in Montreal after moving from Saint Lucia at the age of five lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy as a member of Canada's NBA franchise.
Nick Nurse gives Celtics fans a scouting report on Boucher
Having been with the former Oregon standout for much of his professional career, few, if any, have a better understanding of Boucher's game than his former bench boss.
Before the 76ers' opening night victory on the TD Garden parquet, Nurse offered Boucher's new fan base a scouting report on their new front-court addition.
"He just kind of never stopped with that. He has tremendous energy, a super quirky game, but effective," voiced Nurse. "His shot looks funny, but he's 36 percent career from three. He finishes shots at the rim that most of the time, as a coach, you wish he wasn't taking, but he somehow wills them in."
The energy the 32-year-old brings every day has already earned praise from Boucher's new head coach, Joe Mazzulla. It's a testament to the drive of an individual who has gone from counted out to a two-time NBA champion.
"I'm really happy for him and proud of how his career has turned out," expressed Nurse. "It has not been a linear path for him. One thing, for sure, you know he's going to play hard."