Report: Romeo Langford (thumb) expected to be ready for camp


Photo courtesy of Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald

Romeo Langford has remained under the radar this summer even though he was a lottery pick for the Boston Celtics. He has been overshadowed (literally and figuratively) by Tacko Fall and Grant Williams this summer.

Tacko is a lightning rod and everyone is always looking for an update on his whereabouts. Williams has seemingly made a new best friend in Tacko and has a solid social media presence of his own. Couple those two stealing headlines with the fact that Romeo was rehabbing during Summer League while the other rookies took the floor, and I won’t blame you for forgetting about Langford.



Allow me to remind you that Langford was a top 5 recruit coming out of high school before his first year at Indiana. He played fine during his freshman campaign, but some felt his season was a bit underwhelming due to a thumb injury he battled for most of the year. His shot just wasn’t what everyone expected. Rather than shut it down like we’ve seen so many others do, Romeo played through the injury and elected to enter the NBA Draft.

For Danny Ainge, who has always lusted over prep stars, the risk is worth the reward with the 14th overall pick in the draft. At that point in the draft, it’s a bit of a crapshoot, so taking a flier on a kid who could’ve been a top 5 selection if not for his thumb.

A thumb injury isn’t something to worry about for the long term. It isn’t like a big guy with a chronic foot issues. Langford had surgery on his thumb and has fully rehabbed. He will be back on the court for full basketball activities once Celtics camp starts.


Although he didn’t get to play in Summer League, his injury won’t prove to be much of a setback considering that he’ll get a full NBA camp under his belt. With that said, he is a bit of a wildcard this year.

Do the Celtics want to give him a redshirt season and have him play in the G-League games? Or does he slide in as some wing depth during the season? His contributions to the 2019-20 Celtics remain to be seen, but it’s nice to get a positive report from a kid we haven’t heard much about thus far.

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