Tremont Waters has proven he belongs in the NBA

Boston Celtics rookie point guard Tremont Waters is an NBA talent and he continues to put that on display.

It might have cost his Maine Red Claws the game and their perfect record but Boston Celtics two-way guard Tremont Waters didn’t lose any sleep over the loss.

Waters’ stat line in his NBA debut — seven points (on 2-7 shooting from the field), two rebounds and three assists against the Sacramento Kings on Monday — might not seem worth blowing one of the G League’s only two remaining unbeaten records but a closer look tells a different story.

Called up to play for the parent club as All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker recuperated from a frightening injury sustained in a loss to the Denver Nuggets last week, the LSU product sacrificed that spotless record for a chance at meaningful minutes in the NBA.

Following the game, Waters says that it was “a surreal feeling” but that’s he’s “not satisfied with it.”

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Waters said (via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm). “Kids dream of this moment, and to be able to be in this position, to go from the G-League … to come to the NBA level and to help the team actually get a win definitely feels good, but I’m not satisfied with it.”

“Just got to keep working and everything else will definitely play itself out,” he added, hungry for another bite of the apple.

In a game won by the thinnest of margins, Waters was one of only two players on the Celtics with a double-digit plus/minus on the night of +20 (the other belonging to SMU product Semi Ojeleye), his ability to calm down an offense having helped keep the Kings from running away with the game.

With news that Walker would return as soon as Wednesday night against the visiting Brooklyn Nets, Waters was reassigned to the Red Claws after his short-lived stint with Maine’s parent club.

Even still, the two way guard — who, despite being only 5-foot-10 also led the team in blocks with against the Kings with two — caught the attention of his teammates and head coach Brad Stevens, who had plenty to say after the narrow win.

“[Waters] just has control of the game,” noted Stevens (via the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy).

“You don’t have to get too creative with any actions, you don’t have to run complicated things. You just have to get in space, give him a step and let him run the right play. I think he’ll play a lot better when it’s not his first time coming out here, but we think he’s really good … we’re not going to hesitate to play him.”

Early-season Defensive Player of the Year candidate Marcus Smart was equally effusive in his praise for the young guard’s debut performance at the NBA level, saying, “he picked up on it quick.”

“He came in and he’s a good true point guard, he was finding everybody, he was getting to his spots. Guy’s not afraid, he showed that. He comes out shooting the ball, hit a really big 3 for us down the stretch and really controlled the game. We’re excited about Tremont and we’re happy to have him here.”

While the Claws may no longer be the winningest team in the G League, they aren’t far behind and it’s not unreasonable to think he’ll see more gametime success at both levels in the coming months, perhaps even without an injury to a player as important as Walker.

Waters’ play at both levels has been something of an eyebrow-raiser just when the banged-up Celtics needed a lift and fresh off of receiving G League Player of the Week honors, he’s shown he can help out in a big way when his number is called.

Maybe even scarier to opponents is a sagacious observation from the longest-tenured Celtic Smart:

“He’s only going to continue to get better.”

In his first game back with the Red Claws, Waters would score 33 of the team’s record 155 points, while dishing out seven assists in a win over the Greensboro Swarm.

Boston is lucky they managed to keep Waters on a two-way because there are plenty of teams in the league that could use a backup point guard of his caliber. Rookie or not.