Tacko Fall's 7-foot-5 stature certainly makes him stand out on the NBA, despite a tiny role in his rookie season.
And as the center position continues its evolution, with the league trending towards bigs with ball handling skills who can shoot the three, the Boston Celtics took a chance to sign Fall undrafted in 2019. Now, ahead of the 2020-21 season, the team re-signed Fall to a two-way contract to ensure he continues to develop his skills in the Celtics organization.
It's a fortunate position to be in, as the NBA reportedly is expanding active rosters ahead of this season, though the Celtics' G League affiliate Maine Red Claws reportedly have opted out of playing this year.
Still, with assistant coach Jay Larranga, Fall is learning to adapt his game.
"I mean, I'm still a traditional big per se," Fall said told reporters Sunday. "Coming out of college, pretty much all I would do is run rim to rim and just post up in the block. Here, we run a lot of actions through the bigs, especially in the free-throw line area. So being able to handle the ball in there, being able to hand it off to the guards coming off screens, and being able to move without the ball was something I had to learn last year. I’ve done a lot of different things, especially with coach Jay (Larranaga), to be able to help with that."
Fall's coaches and teammates can seen see his improvement whether it be his conditioning, court vision and his handle on the perimeter.
It helps with a support system like his.
"The relationships that I’ve built here, whether it’s my teammates, whether it’s with the coaches, I feel very comfortable here," Fall said.
"My game grew a lot because like I said earlier, I’m in an organization where they believe in me. They took a chance on me last year where a lot of teams had a lot of question marks, but they saw that I had a lot of potential. So you always want to go where you’re wanted. I know I’m wanted here, I know that they are going to help me develop my game, and they are going to utilize me the best possible way."
