Anyone who opens social media on the second day of the typical work week will now be smothered with NBA Legend Lebron James enjoying Taco Tuesday. Even though James' attempt to get the saying trademarked got denied, there's no denying it's become a thing on social media.
While James has been enjoying mid-week tacos, Celtics prospect Tacko Fall has been learning how to swim, taking part in a swimming lesson in Portland with 10 children.
Showing up to a pool and seeing a 7-foot-6 man would more than surprise any onlooker. Coincidentally, that's the same thought that most low post opponents when they see the Senegal Skyscraper check into the game.
Despite his massive height, Fall was not really interested in the sport of basketball growing up in Senegal, until friends pressured Tacko's mother to have him try the sport.
When Fall was a teenager, Ibrahima Ndiaye, who ran a local basketball academy, met with Fall and his mother and told them that basketball could lead to wonderful educational opportunities in the U.S. That educational opportunity pushed Fall into the sport that he now loves today.
In high school, Fall’s transition was better than expected. He spoke English better than anyone expected and as a child was a self-described “computer nerd.” He took the SAT about three weeks after arriving in Florida and scored in the 95th percentile.
Fall’s basketball skills remained mediocre, but when you are 7'4″ and playing against high school students, that doesn’t matter all that much. When Fall was a junior, his high school coach in Tony Atkins called then-Central Florida coach Donnie Jones, who showed interest in signing the giant.
“He said, ‘Hey, I want you to just see this kid,’ ” Jones recalled to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “ ‘He’s a long ways away but, golly, he’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before.’ ”
The transition to playing college basketball was not as easy as high school hoops for Fall, as in limited minutes in his first season, Fall averaged 7.4 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game in 17.6 minutes for UCF.
Through constant development and time spent in the gym, Fall quietly developed into one of the best players in college basketball, as he averaged 11.1 ppg and 7.6 RPG on 74.8 percent shooting, which all culminated in a 2018-19 honor on the All-AAC team.
Following those solid performances and a second-round loss in the NCAA tournament to the Duke Blue Devils, Fall entered the draft and set records at the NBA Draft combine. Fall generated attention for obvious reasons, setting combine records for height in shoes (7'7″), wingspan (8'2¼”), and standing reach (10'2½”), proving that he could touch the rim while standing on the ground.
Despite these impressive numbers, Fall didn't hear his name called on draft night. As disappointed as that was, that was far from the end for Fall, who was quickly signed as an undrafted free agent by the Boston Celtics.
Fall made a name for himself in the NBA summer league and the preseason, racking up highlights as a Celtics team led by him, Carsen Edwards, and Tremont Waters to some impressive performances.
While he was not signed to a roster spot on the Celtics to start the season, Fall recently joined the Celtics g-league team. He thrived on the Maine Red Claws, posting 14.8 ppg and 9.4 RPG while he and Waters have helped the Red Claws to a 115.8 offensive rating.
Only three players in NBA history were as tall as Tacko Fall; Manute Bol, Shawn Bradley, and Gheorge Muresan. All three had relatively long, yet injury-plagued careers.
Fall might not become a star in the NBA, but he can certainly hang around as a role player or an end of bench guy on a team like the Celtics for quite some time.
As Lyle Morrison pointed out on the Hardwood Houdini, Fall could at the very least play the Boban Marjanovic role, where he could come in as a spark plug off the bench and make opposing defenses adjust to his massive height.
Now, Fall has become a fan favorite in Boston despite putting up very minimal numbers. He hits a shot and the crowd goes wild. Below, look at the bench reaction after Tacko banked in a three-pointer.
Then there's another surprisingly nifty move by the Celtics big man which had Jayston Tatum and the Celtics bench in disbelief.
Lastly, here is a video of the Celtics crowd chanting “We want Tacko.”
So, Tacko Fall, a player who averages 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in his first two years has become America's Favorite Tacko.