The Celtics put not just the finishing touches on their regular season Sunday but also their roster ahead of the playoffs. The C’s officially announced they have promoted guard JD Davison from two-way contract to a standard roster spot.
Similar to last year with Neemias Queta, the Celtics promoted one of their two-way guys right before the playoffs. They save out on luxury tax penalties by doing so late in the season. The move also allows Davison, the G League MVP, to suit up in the playoffs. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about Davison getting elevated to the roster.
“Just validation in the work and the patience and the time from the years that he’s been with us,” Mazzulla said. “It’s easier to see the on-court development and how he’s gotten better. But I think he’s gotten better off the floor as far as his leadership, his communication, his growth, his maturity since coming into the league at a young age. That’s something that’s going to be tested. Just thought it was the right thing to do just because what he’s done for our program.”
Davison, 22, was picked 53rd overall by the Celtics in the 2022 draft. Since then, he’s signed two-way contracts for the last three seasons with the organization. Davison enjoyed a breakout season this year, being named G League MVP and to the Rising Stars challenge as part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Davison averaged 25.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 30 regular-season games for the Maine Celtics this year.
The Maine Celtics had a successful season, falling in the East Finals. So they weren’t quite able to make it back to G League Finals like last year. Davison was a key part of the G League squad this season alongside other two-way players like Drew Peterson and Anton Watson. While there’s always uncertainty in an NBA career, Davison said he always trusted the process when it came to his future.
“I never had no doubt,” Davison said. “But I just knew. I think I put everyone on notice coming out of the G League, getting MVP, winning a lot of games. You don’t get this without winning a lot of games. So I just put my head down, kept working. Being where my feet are, I think it helped me being in the moment, being in the G League and not looking forward to where I wanted to be. Just tried to stay down and keep going.”
Davison said he was getting in a workout when Brad Stevens told him to come chat afterwards, so that’s when he found out the news. He said it was a “dream” to hear the news from the Celtics’ president of basketball operations that all his hard work paid off.
Realistically, the Celtics will not rely on Davison much during this upcoming playoff run. Still, it’s a nod to the work he’s put in through the last three seasons. Davison was picked as a one-and-done prospect coming out of Alabama, so he was going to need that development in the pro game. He’ll get to continue doing that with the C’s going forward after the life-changing news.
“I know my mom, I know she’s been praying about it every day,” Davison said. “I know she’s probably at church praying about it. Just knowing her, I know she’s super proud. I know everyone back home is super proud. So just knowing that I’ve got them behind me, they just tell me to keep going and it’s going to be all right.”
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