It’s hard to overstate the impact Tacko Fall is having on this year’s NBA summer league.
The Boston Celtics center has become a certified fan favorite after one-plus games at the basketball showcase. The 7-foot-7 prospect drew a rave review Saturday night from Celtics center Enes Kanter after his Summer League debut. Two days later, fans in attendance at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas embraced the lengthy center as a cult hero during the Celtics’ 89-72 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Athletic’s Jay King and Boston Sports Journal’s Brian Robb needed less than one hour to notice a Fall love-fest was taking place.
Tacko Fall may be the most beloved summer leaguer of all time. He's a legend out here.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) July 9, 2019
Tacko Fall might be in the summer league Hall of Fame by the time this week is over.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) July 9, 2019
Los Angeles Lakers fans often make up the vast majority of fans at NBA summer league games, but their old rivalry with the Celtics didn’t seem to matter Monday night. They came to see Fall.
Lakers fans cheering for a Celtics player as a loud "We want Tacko" chant breaks out. What a world we live in.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 9, 2019
The Cult of Tacko is growing larger here in Vegas. There are "We want Tacko" chants, and any Celtic who doesn't pass him the rock gets booed. https://t.co/zMrIEVxu3D
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) July 9, 2019
"We want Tacko" chants at MGM 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QROaGcy1K9
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) July 9, 2019
Fall scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting and added one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot in 11-plus minutes of action. That was enough to earn the approval of former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins and convince WBZ’s Adam Kaufman that Fall deserves a spot on the Celtics’ NBA roster.
“If Tacko Fall isn’t on the #Celtics roster opening night, I’m quitting the #NBA,” Kaufmann wrote in apparent jest.
Fall signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics on June 21, one day after every other team opted not to select him in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Check out Fall’s highlights against Cleveland. Do they make you a believer?
Tacko Fall is just unreal. 🤯#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/tYwkFX2nbs
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) July 9, 2019
