LAS VEGAS — The Celtics unexpectedly added Charles Bassey to their Summer League roster as the big man had some banner games. But he’s no longer on the C’s roster, per the team. His deal was to only play for three games in Las Vegas as he had other commitments for the summer.
Bassey impressed over those three games as the team’s leading scorer. He averaged 15.3 points and 11.0 rebounds on 70.4% shooting from the field as he was a force inside the paint. Expect the Celtics to lean on their other big men like Kenneth Lofton Jr. and second-round pick Amari Williams for their final few games.
“It was last-minute,” Bassey said of joining the Celtics. “I got a call from my agent and flew out the next day and started training camp with them. It’s been good, man. It’s been good from training camp to today’s game. The energy has been great, vibing with these guys and coaches, it’s been fun. Everything’s been good.”
Bassey drew plenty of attention with his play in Summer League considering the state of the Celtics roster. Boston is looking at a lean big man rotation compared to past seasons, so Bassey looked like a potential difference-maker in Vegas. The C’s currently have Xavier Tillman, Neemias Queta and newly-signed Luka Garza as the bigs on their roster.
It remains to be seen if Bassey will be picked up by the Celtics or another team after showing what he can do on the court. He was Boston’s most-accomplished NBA player on the Summer League roster, having already played four seasons in the league and 113 career games. He played for the Spurs the past three seasons as Bassey is looking for the next stop in his career.
“Just get trust from my teammates, from my coaches,” Bassey said of his Summer League goals. “Sometimes some players just got out there just to score. I just go out there to do what I do, just rebound, block shots, and bring that to the team and getting trust from the coaches. When they tell you to do stuff, you do it. Just going out there and playing hard ever minute. You never know what’s going to happen. Just play hard.”
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