Some things you probably don't know about Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk: PF/C with PG/QB experience.
The Boston Globe's Baxter Holmes wrote a great story profiling the Celtics first round draft pick in this morning's paper.  Here are a few of the highlights:

  • Olynyk graduated from Gonzaga in just 3.5 years with a degree in accounting, and is only 2 semesters away from getting his MBA.
  • At age 7 he decided that he would play in the NBA; his backup plan was farming.
  • He grew up in Toronto, and played for the Canadian junior national team.
  • Olynyk chose to redshirt after his sophomore season, something very rarely done.  He credits much of his success to this; giving him time to work out and train without worrying about stats.
  • Last season he finished third in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 62.9%.
  • In high school Olynyk played point guard (before growing from 6'3" to 6'10" in one year) as well as quarterback on the football team.  
  • On draft day Danny Ainge said "I don’t see Kelly as a go-to guy in the NBA, but a guy that complements the rest of the guys on the team and makes them all better."
  • Along those same lines, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few had this to say about his former player: "I can’t overstate just how big of a team guy he is."
Referencing both his football and point guard background, Olynyk appears to agree with Ainge's view of how he should approach the game as a Celtic:

“What you want is a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. One of the things he [my father] always told me when I was younger, good players can score, but great players can make the people around them better. Obviously, you can’t throw the ball and catch the ball. You’ve got to put your teammates in a position to succeed, and I think that’s something you have to do as a point guard as well — or anybody on a basketball floor.”

Oh yeah, and Olynyk is wearing Dirk Nowitzki's #41, but swear's it's just a coincidence because Boston has so few available numbers left.  We'll see...


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