Exploring Rasheer Fleming as a Boston Celtics draft prospect
Exploring Rasheer Fleming as a Boston Celtics draft prospect
With the 28th and 32nd picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics have an opportunity to add two new talents to Joe Mazzulla's rotation. Brad Stevens will likely prioritize older prospects with multiple years' worth of collegiate experience under their belt. Older prospects usually enter the league with more polish and are capable of contributing from the jump.
In a recent episode of the "How 'Bout Them Celtics" podcast, hosts Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance explore the upside of Rasheer Fleming out of St. Joseph's. The 6-foot-9 forward is a third-year collegiate prospect who is coming off a strong season. In 35 games, Fleming averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 53.1% from the field and 39% from deep.
Simone and LaFrance explore how Flemming could fit within Joe Mazzulla's rotation and what aspects of his game need the most work. The duo also debated whether he could earn minutes off Boston's bench next season or would be destined for a season with the Maine Celtics in the G League.
You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.
Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS
Website: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
15 minutes ago
- New York Times
Was the NBA title decided last night? Also, the best MCWS performance … ever
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Grab a mebound™ today. In the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City's massive Game 5 win over the Pacers last night, we saw poetry. A screenwriter might get chastised for writing such a cliche moment as the Thunder's turnaround, but to watch it live was awe-inspiring. It felt familiar: I won't dismiss this Pacers team until the trophy presentation proves differently, but it feels like the Thunder may have won the title last night. Conquering the Pacer comeback wave feels like the final breakthrough. Read our full recap of the game here. Oklahoma City can win this on the road in Game 6 on Thursday. Turns out, if we're talking about PR outcomes, yesterday was a bizarre day for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Consider: Still in awe at the strange timing. Anyway, I think Ohtani has shown he can still be a two-way superstar, even if he did just pitch one inning. I also raised my eyebrows at this notion: Ohtani could really break Barry Bonds' record for most MVPs. Let's keep going: The best MCWS outing ever? There are gutsy performances, and then there's what Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood did yesterday in an elimination game against Murray State: nine innings, no hits, 19 strikeouts and one lousy walk. The Razorbacks won 3-0, extending their season at least one more day, while Wood produced arguably the best pitching performance in the history of this tournament. It's just the third no-hitter in MCWS history and the first since 1960. Read more jaw-dropping stats about the outing here. Advertisement Durant wants Spurs Kevin Durant has three teams he prefers to play for next, according to a report late last night from The Athletic: Houston, San Antonio and Miami. Furthermore, our report states that Durant is partial to the Spurs out of those options. Minnesota, despite being more successful than those three, appears to be out of the running for Durant for now. The full report is worth a read with plenty more details. Hot dog king returns Joey Chestnut will once again demolish Nathan's hot dogs on Coney Island on July 4, he announced yesterday, after missing last year's contest due to a marketing snafu. Chestnut, a 16-time champion of the Nathan's contest, was barred last year after promoting plant-based hot dogs in an advertisement for Impossible Foods. Full report inside. More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. 📺 MCWS: Arkansas vs. TBD 7 p.m. ET on ESPN The 'TBD' is not a typo here, as LSU and UCLA got postponed until this morning thanks to rain last night. The loser of that game gets Arkansas in the nightcap in an elimination game. Lively. 📺 NHL: Oilers at Panthers 8 p.m. ET on TNT/Max Florida can win its second straight Stanley Cup title here … or this series can head back to Edmonton for Game 7 and be in the conversation for best Stanley Cup Final ever. Hm. Get tickets to games like these here. We're going to have a lot of musing in this section today. First up: Brody Miller on U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, whose incredible winning putt turned competitors into fans. Make time for this today. Also from Oakmont: Brendan Quinn on Adam Scott, the beloved golfer who opened up about his career path in the parking lot after a bad final round. His reflections are worth a read. Jen McCaffrey has a great look inside the final hours of Rafael Devers' time in Boston. Still shocked over this. Advertisement Oh, and the Red Sox better make the playoffs this year, as Steve Buckley writes. The NBA Finals have been electric … on the court. On TV, it's been a lackluster production, as Mike Vorkunov explored yesterday. Interesting view, and supported by the league's late decision to have player intros last night. NBA stars don't want just a shoe anymore. They want ownership of it. Extremely interesting: Former Giants star Osi Umenyiora, who has roots in Nigeria, is trying to inspire the entire continent of Africa to play football. It's working. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Devers trade grades. Most-read on the website yesterday: The Spaun story from above.
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
Jalen Williams joins '40' club with Magic, Russell Westbrook, Rick Barry and Jerry West
Jalen Williams joins '40' club with Magic, Russell Westbrook, Rick Barry and Jerry West Show Caption Hide Caption Jalen Williams 'fortunate' for Thunder to let him grow into NBA Finals star Jalen Williams had 40 points with six rebounds and four assists in the Thunder's 120-109 win against the Pacers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Jalen Williams has arrived. No longer should he be considered a blossoming player full of potential. Williams propelled the Thunder in a crucial Game 5 victory Monday, June 16, putting them just one win from the franchise's first NBA title since 1979 and its first since relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City. And though NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws most of the attention and generates headlines for his consistency, Williams — a first-time All-Star in February — is helping to lift the Thunder to new heights. He led all players Monday with a playoff career-high 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting. At 24, he became the fifth-youngest player in NBA Finals history to score 40 or more points, joining Jerry West, Russell Westbrook, Rick Barry and Magic Johnson. MORE: NBA Finals Game 6 creates historic moment for small-market teams, zealous fans MORE: Tyrese Haliburton injury has star struggling and Pacers' title hopes fading Over the past three games, Williams is averaging 31.0 points per game on 50.8% shooting, while adding 6.3 boards. And he's doing it by attacking with efficiency, not wasting movement, using speed to blow past defenders, getting to his spots down low and finishing with intent. Over the past three games, Williams also has attempted 34 free throws. 'Great force,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. 'I mean, that's the word. We've used that word with him in his development. When he's at his best he's playing with that type of force. That was an unbelievable performance by him, just throughout the whole game. 'He really was on the gas the entire night. Applied a ton of pressure. Thought he made a lot of the right plays. We're going to need a similar type of approach in Game 6 from him.' The scary part for the rest of the Western Conference is that Williams is still learning. He has talked openly about the struggles he has confronted in his development, how there had been games in his career when he was too passive, waiting for the ball to swing to him. 'In order to get better and being good in these moments, and by no means am I perfect in these moments, you're able to generate good habits when you have the right way of going about it and you have a process,' Williams said after the game. 'I'm extremely fortunate that I have a coach and a staff and teammates that allow me to have those ugly plays during the year and figure out my game. 'I think right now it's paid off. I understand the level of physicality I have to do in order to be good.' Many star players develop their signature moves to get baskets when needed. James Harden has his step-back. Tim Duncan would go to the glass. Michael Jordan's fadeaway was unguardable. Williams has developed a scooping, left-handed finger roll that has become potent, where he can use his speed and 6-foot-6 frame to create space before floating the ball high off the glass. But that's just one element of his game; he has become a three-level scorer who can knock down 3s — he went 3-of-5 from deep Monday night — just as easily as he can lace mid-range jumpers. But, as always, and similar to Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams appears to be unbothered and unhurried when he attacks. He seems to survey the defense before deliberately getting to his spot. 'He was really gutsy tonight,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'He stepped into big plays. Felt like every time we needed a shot, he made it. He wasn't afraid." When the Thunder needed those shots most, it was the third quarter. Pacers guard T.J. McConnell sprung off on a heater and scored 13 in the period, as the Pacers made a late charge to close what had been a sizeable deficit. Williams provided an answer, scoring 13 of his own in the third, on 4-of-5 attempts, including 4-of-5 on free throws. This performance, if the Thunder do go on to win the championship, will be one that helps launch him into the conversation as an elite player. 'There were times earlier in the season where he had some ugly plays, ugly games, trying to establish the type force you saw tonight,' Daigneault said. 'I complimented him back then. But he's trying to make All-Star teams. He's an All-NBA player this season. He's got an individual career that he's ambitious. 'The way that you accomplish your goals and become the player you're going to be is by improving. I credit him because in the face of all those things, he just focused on improving. Now, in the face of going up to Indiana, up 3-2, we have to focus on improving. That's got to be our mindset. We have to discipline ourselves to do that.'
USA Today
30 minutes ago
- USA Today
On this day: Banner 17 won; Len Bias drafted; Popeye Jones, Allan Ray born
On this day: Banner 17 won; Len Bias drafted; Popeye Jones, Allan Ray born On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise won their 17th and most recent title to date by defeating their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-92 blowout of Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. The win came at home in TD Garden, behind 26 points and 14 rebounds by big man Kevin Garnett, and 26 points from shooting guard Ray Allen. Point guard Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists, while forward Paul Pierce chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds. Reserve forward James Posey provided 11 points off the bench. It was Boston's first title in 22 seasons. After pausing to kiss the Lucky the Leprechaun logo at center court, Garnett went to find Celtics legend Bill Russell sitting courtside. "I got my own. I got my own," Garnett said via ESPN to Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell, present at the sidelines. "I hope we made you proud. "You sure did," Russell replied. "This is the reason we came here," Garnett shared. "This is the reason we got together, and Danny (Ainge) made it go down. This is it right now." "It means so much more because these are the guys, the Havliceks, the Bill Russells, the Cousys," Pierce added. "These guys started what's going on with those banners. They don't hang up any other banners but championship ones, and now I'm a part of it." The win would be the second-biggest margin in Finals history. It is also the date that the Boston Celtics drafted small forward Len Bias second overall in the 1986 NBA draft. What should have been a joyful event soon turned heartbreaking, as Bias would overdose on cocaine, triggering a fatal heart arrhythmia in the Maryland product. The loss of Bias devastated his family, the Celtics, and the NBA, after which the team began a long descent into mediocrity that would not truly turn around for 22 years, ironically on the same date Bias was drafted. Today is also the birthday of ex-Celtic shooting guard Allan Ray, who was born in the Bronx, New York in 1984. Ray was signed by Boston as an undrafted free agent in 2006, having played his college ball with Villanova. He would also play just one season for the Celtics, logging 6.2 points and 1.5 assists per game across 47 contests played.
