A decade ago, Noah Vonleh was carving out a path for himself as a young prospect playing for a maximum crowd capacity of 1,000 at Haverhill High School. Now with a year of college, 8 NBA stops and a stint in China between him and his North Shore playing days, Vonleh will once again call a Bay State basketball court home. This one with a capacity of 19,156.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the forward/ center has reportedly made the Celtics roster after a strong preseason.
Forward/center Noah Vonleh has made the Boston Celtics opening night roster, sources tell ESPN. Vonleh capped his preseason with a 14 point, 13-rebound game vs. Charlotte. A former lottery pick, he played last season in China.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2022
Although Vonleh did not gain national attention as a prospect until transferring to New Hampton High School in New Hampshire as a junior, it was in Haverhill that Vonleh went from watching the likes of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker to believing he could make the Association one day.
The ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Vonleh has struggled to find a permanent professional landing spot. The only team that Vonleh has lasted a more than a year with was his stint with the Portland Trailblazers from 2015 to 2018. Although the offense skillset that scouts foresaw as a five-star prospect at Indiana University never materialized, the lengthy 6′10″ big man has always been a useful rebounding force.
After spending the 2021-2022 NBA season with the Shangai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, Vonleh is hoping to launch the second act of his NBA career by being a contributor for a team with championship aspirations.
The 27-year-old had a strong training camp and preseason, averaging an efficient 7.3 points and 7.3 rebound per game. His .857 shooting percentage was the second highest in the preseason amongst those that averaged three or more shot attempts per game.
Vonleh should provide some much-needed rebounding for a Celtics team has already lost two members of its frontcourt, Robert Williams and Danilo Gallinari, to injury before the regular season has even began.
The Celtics open up the regular season with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
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