It’s hard to overstate the impact Tacko Fall is having on this year’s NBA summer league.
The Boston Celtics center has become a certified fan favorite after one-plus games at the basketball showcase. The 7-foot-7 prospect drew a rave review Saturday night from Celtics center Enes Kanter after his Summer League debut. Two days later, fans in attendance at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas embraced the lengthy center as a cult hero during the Celtics’ 89-72 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Athletic’s Jay King and Boston Sports Journal’s Brian Robb needed less than one hour to notice a Fall love-fest was taking place.
Los Angeles Lakers fans often make up the vast majority of fans at NBA summer league games, but their old rivalry with the Celtics didn’t seem to matter Monday night. They came to see Fall.
Fall scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting and added one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot in 11-plus minutes of action. That was enough to earn the approval of former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins and convince WBZ’s Adam Kaufman that Fall deserves a spot on the Celtics’ NBA roster.
“If Tacko Fall isn’t on the #Celtics roster opening night, I’m quitting the #NBA,” Kaufmann wrote in apparent jest.
Fall signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics on June 21, one day after every other team opted not to select him in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Check out Fall’s highlights against Cleveland. Do they make you a believer?
