On a recent live stream, Jaylen Brown asked Jordan Walsh to name his five favorite defenders the NBA has ever seen. He listed Gary Payton, Kawhi Leonard, Dikembe Mutombo, Jrue Holiday … and himself.
That's bold.
And while he has nowhere near the resume of those other guys, he has at least opened up Microsoft Word, named it ‘JWalshDResume.doc’ and started adding a couple of bullet points.
Walsh didn’t list one name, Marcus Smart, which set Brown off on a highlight binge to let Walsh know exactly who he was leaving off. At the same time, he was letting Walsh know exactly who he needs to be to make a name for himself in Boston. The Celtics need a defensive menace to unleash on other teams, and Walsh is it.
That's how he likes it.
“Honestly, I'd be forgetting what happened on offense,” he told reporters in Washington after blowing out the Wizards. “I’m so focused on getting back on defense so then it leaves my mind. But then whenever I get, like, a steal and a dunk, or a steal, or a rebound, that stays with me. I don't know why, it's weird for me. But that's how it happens. I just kind of forget and then move on to defense, and then defense always sticks with me for some reason.”
Walsh has become an elite defender for the Celtics. He has matched up individually with some of the best players Boston has faced and shut them down. He’s held Donovan Mitchell to four points on 2-8 shooting, Tyrese Maxey to four points on 1-9 shooting, and Cade Cunningham to five points on 0-6 shooting (there were a couple of shooting fouls).
One thing that stands out is his versatility. He has guarded everyone with some level of success. According to league tracking data, Walsh has spent 12% of his time on the floor covering