Fansided

NBA Rookie Ladder: Meet the foreign fab five

By Brandon Jefferson

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 09: Lauri Markkanen
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 09: Lauri Markkanen /
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BOSTON – NOVEMBER 10: Boston Celtics’ Daniel Theis reacts after making a three-point basket against the Charlotte Hornets during the fourth quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on Nov. 10, 2017. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – NOVEMBER 10: Boston Celtics’ Daniel Theis reacts after making a three-point basket against the Charlotte Hornets during the fourth quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on Nov. 10, 2017. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

5. Daniel Theis, Germany

The 25-year-old German center actually went undrafted in 2013 when he was automatically eligible. After spending multiple seaons with different teams in the A and B levels of the Bundesliga, Theis’ development was enough to get him on Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics radar. He was signed this summer to  a two-year deal worth just over $2 million; a signing that was mostly swept under the rug.

However, through 28 games, Theis has been a key cog to the Celtics who are sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference standings.

The numbers are pedestrian at best (4.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 0.8 blocks per game in 12.6 minutes per game) but his impact has been bigger than statistics. Boston had been one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA last season and despite their magical run to the Eastern Conference Finals, their inability to control the boards was a weakness too big for them to overcome.

That has changed this year and Theis’ rim-running, high-energy style of play is part of the reason why.

Theis can play alongside Al Horford for stretches to give the Celtics a more traditional two bigs lineup or can shoulder the load as the lone front court player when Boston opts to go small and give Horfod a breather. Theis has shown the ability to make plays as a roller off pick-and-rolls and with teams paying so much attention to Kyrie Irving, Theis has announced his arrival with some poster quality slam dunks.

Injuries to Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, and Aron Baynes might have forced Theis into a bigger role than expected in his first season in the NBA, but the former four-time German League All-Star (2014–2017), German League Most Effective German Player (2016) and German League best Young Player (2014) has met the challenge head on.

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