On June 20, the day of the 2019 NBA draft, Tacko Fall did not hear his name called out as one of the 60 selections. All 30 NBA teams passed on the 7-foot-7 behemoth.
The Boston Celtics was the only team that took a chance on Fall and tapped him to be part of their summer league roster. After seeing what he can do on the floor, a Celtics staffer reportedly thinks that Fall is worth investing on, per Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo! Sports.
Asked a Celtics staffer if Tacko Fall is an NBA player. The response: “I think he’s worth an investment for sure. If he improves this season anywhere close to his improvement the last few months then I think it’s hard to argue against him.” He’s been in Boston working all week.
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) July 21, 2019
Tacko Fall was a sensation in summer league, captivating the crowd with his dominant-looking stature and his incredible no-jump dunks. In five appearances, Fall averaged 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per contest.
He also shot an astounding 77 percent from the field. It helps, too, to be 7-foot-7 and be that close to the basket on nearly every shot attempt.
While Fall can certainly use his height to his advantage, it also has its caveats. Given his massive frame, Fall has slow feet. Today's NBA has relatively moved away from the big man, and thus, his size doesn't have much value in the league right now.
Teams can exploit Fall's slow feet in pick-and-roll action. Likewise, players with Fall's stature historically end up with injury problems on the lower parts of their bodies.
Luckily for Fall, the Celtics are still looking for answers at the center position. Boston lost arguably its best interior defender this summer in Al Horford. They did add Enes Kanter, but then he really isn't much of a threat down low defensively.
Thus, this is where Fall comes in as they can utilize his insane 8-foot-4 wingspan to protect the rim for them in stretches next season.
The Celtics have a massive (literally) decision on their hands. Nevertheless, adding Fall is a low-risk, high-reward move for them right now.
Follow Us
Subscribe