Since his college days at UCF, Tacko Fall was a spectacle. Of course, it’s not hard to become a spectacle when you can dunk without leaving the ground. The 7’5 basketball player from Senegal had a stellar college career. He spent four years at UCF and in 2017 was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. In his senior year, he led the Knights to their first-ever NCAA tournament win against VCU and played well in a losing effort to the Zion Williamson led Duke Blue Devils. It was a major stage for Fall to show NBA scouts what he had, and he didn’t disappoint. Fall finished the game with 15 points on 70% shooting along with three blocks, including one on Zion Williamson, and six rebounds. However, despite his impressive feats, Fall went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft. Then came the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics signed Fall the day after the draft, but that wasn’t the day Fall’s life changed. Fall became an instant Celtics fan favorite during his time in the summer league. Fall played in all five games for the Celtics in the summer league and led the team with a 77% field goal percentage. Fans were ecstatic to watch Fall play. To watch a man post up, catch the ball where only he could, and then throw it down without leaving the ground was something to behold. But when the season started, Fall didn’t see much playing time. He played only 33 minutes in his entire rookie season and has played 25 minutes in the Celtics first 12 games. He even spent some of his rookie season in the G League. So, the question remains: how does a player who barely plays garner so much attention and praise from the Boston Celtics fans?
The answer is actually quite simple. The fans love the spectacle of watching Tacko Fall play, and they love Tacko as a person. He makes some of the biggest players in the league look like boys when he stands next to them, and, as mentioned before, watching him dunk without leaving the ground is just fun to see. Fall is very similar to the Dallas Mavericks Boban Marjanovic. At 7’4, he too is a spectacle and is loved by fans around the league.
On top of just watching Fall play, fans love his personality. There are not many players in the NBA who would be brought in by their organization to surprise fans and also only play 33 minutes in a season, but Tacko Fall has found a way to do just that. Boston fans have chosen to see Fall as more than just a 7’5 player. They’ve chosen to see him as the hard-working, caring person that he is. Fall has expressed his intent to use the money he earns as an NBA player to help his home country of Senegal, and when you watch him interact with fans, you get to see his genuine enjoyment when he sees the smile on their faces. This has prompted Boston fans to be taken over with Tacko fever.
This was never more evident than in a game in 2019 against the Detroit Pistons. With the Celtics up by 27 points in the fourth quarter, the Boston crowd began to chant his name. Then, as he checked into the game, he received a standing ovation from the crowd. The crowd cheered anytime Fall did anything with the ball.
The bottom line is that Tacko Fall is an extremely tall and loveable character within the Celtics organization that, despite his lack of playing time, has captured the hearts of Boston fans. That is the NBA for you. Where else could a 7’5 kid from Senegal become the king of Boston.
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