The very first sentence that came off his lips was as follows: “Obviously, it’s a dream come true to be a part of the best organization in the NBA.”
Walsh’s feelings of gratitude continued to shine through as he met with the media about an hour later.
Walsh, who is just 19 years old, gushed constantly about landing with the Celtics. He is intrigued by the program and enamored by the history.
“I know what type of organization Boston is,” he stated with confidence. “I know that being able to be with guys like (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, who can give me wisdom and who are in a winning environment, and been to the Playoffs so many times. An organization that has so many championships.
“To be in that environment, to grow in a place like that as your first place, so they set the foundation for your career? I feel like that’s the most important part is that foundation, and Boston has a great foundation for that.”
Walsh said he could feel that environment around him when he was inside the Auerbach Center for his two pre-Draft workouts.
“I got to be in the atmosphere of a Boston workout, and feel what it feels like to be in a winning culture’s workout in their gym. And you could feel it in everything you did,” Walsh said. “Even just doing ball handling drills and stretching; it’s always loud, people are screaming, people are always cheering you on.”
“I talked to Al Horford once,” he revealed. “We just texted, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m coming to the city, I’m glad to be here, I’m ready to work. Hopefully I can be under your wing and you can show me the ropes.’”
Asked what the city is getting in him, Walsh responded without hesitation: “A guy who harps on defense. Who player super hard. Who is tough. Who is going to be consistent in that aspect of the game. Who is going to do the simple things that help winning, that maybe other people may overlook: diving on the floor.”
He continued, “I heard that Boston likes people who dive on the floor more than people who dunk the ball. So that guy’s going to be me.”
