Ojeleye or the Incredible Hulk?

Early this season, it has been the rookies and young players making the biggest impact for the Boston Celtics. Players like Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown have been extremely efficient and impressive offensively, showing the development of the youth movement. That being said, no player has surprised me like Semi Ojeleye.

Drafted as the 37th overall pick in the 2017 draft, most NBA fans don't even know who Semi is. You know who certainly does? Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the current leader in scoring has seemed unstoppable early this season, he ran into a bit of a roadblock in a loss to Boston on October 26. Giannis still dropped 28 points, but he did have some trouble when matched up against Ojeleye.



The rookie guarded the Greek Freak with an unwavering confidence and strength. Antetokounmpo attempted to back him down in the paint, as he does with everyone unfortunate enough to be guarding him. However, Semi held strong, forcing Giannis into either taking bad shots or deferring to other teammates.

Head Coach Brad Stevens sees a lot of potential in Ojeleye, stating that he has a chance to be one of the better defenders in the NBA.



Stevens cites Semi's lateral quickness as one of his greatest assets, especially when combined with his size. This is why he could stay in front of Antetokounmpo while also refusing to be backed down in the paint. Ojeleye has been an important defensive asset to a team that has certainly impressed defensively so far.

Because of his defensive tenacity and unwavering nature, Ojeleye has received an interesting nickname from the Celtics, according to Terry Rozier.



How badass is that? It is certainly fitting given Semi's size and his refusal to be pushed around. I also like the nickname that Taylor C. Snow gives in his tweet above in which he calls Ojeleye the Terminator. Both are equally as kick-ass for a player that seems to... well, kick ass.

Photo: Tony Dejak/AP Photo
Share