Despite being the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, not much fanfare has followed Boston Celtics rookie swingman Romeo Langford. In large part, this has been due to the myriad of injuries sustained by the Indiana native at the start of his career, injuries that saw him drop from a potential rotation player to one bound for the NBA G League in the time it took you to read this paragraph.
However, as of late, Langford has put the Celtics — and perhaps even the league — on notice, with the 20-year-old earning at least 15 minutes per contest in six of his last 15 games. In fact, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has played Langford for 28.0 minutes per game in his last two contests, where the rook has averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steal per game (while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three), earning enough confidence from Stevens to be allowed to be on the floor in the closing minutes.
romeo langford locks down kevin huerter's attempted equalizer 3 and then grabs an offensive rebound to ice the game. at this rate they are going to retire his number by tuesday.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) February 8, 2020
On Friday night, Langford was one of the key players of the game, scoring a career-high 16 points — seven of which came late in the fourth quarter. He’s long displayed a fine level of defensive awareness but the timely shots that he made were the next step in his development.
Following the game, Stevens would comment on why he went with Langford at the end of the game, saying that the rookie’s physical attributes — which were on display on defense, on the boards and offensively — and his strong play were the primary reasons for his decision.
Romeo Langford is elite on defense pic.twitter.com/OKrIi7vyfS
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) February 8, 2020
Stevens would comment that Langford played well in their last game, a 116-100 win over the Orlando Magic, too.
Brad Stevens on why he went with Romeo Langford down the stretch: "Size and length…I thought Romeo played well last game as well."
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) February 8, 2020
Langford, who would note how surreal it was for him to play against veteran Hawks forward Vince Carter — whose NBA debut occurred before he was even born — was nonplussed by his performance.
Now, he’ll attempt to build off of his recent play and perhaps be able to earn a spot in a fully-healthy rotation, though it would come at the expense of a player like forward Semi Ojeleye (who’s also been playing well). It’s long been known that Boston has one of the deepest teams in the league and the constant injuries incurred by the players allow for someone like Langford to get playing time regardless.
Nonetheless, the recent play by the rookie has undoubtedly been a confidence-builder for him, the staff and his teammates. If not this season, continuing his steady improvement should allow him to lock down a rotation spot next season.
In the meantime, Langford will have to continue to be as professional as he has been up to this point, working hard behind-the-scenes and accepting whatever role he’s asked to play on a team with championship aspirations.