JD Davison Discusses His Growth in Rookie Season, Stepping Out of His Comfort Zone, and Learning from Marcus Smart

JD Davison averaged 12.5 points and 8.7 assists per contest in 26 G League games last season.

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JD Davison is an explosive six-foot-three point guard with a knack for getting deep into the paint, often to the rim. Defensively, the 20-year-old Alabama native does an excellent job navigating screens, especially regarding fighting to get over picks to keep the ball in front of him.

In his first season as a professional, last year's 53rd overall pick produced 12.5 points and 8.7 assists per contest in 26 G League games. And in 12 appearances with the parent club, he averaged 1.6 points plus nearly one assist and a rebound in 5.5 minutes per game.

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Davison conveyed the following to Inside The Celtics about the growth he experienced during his rookie season.

"I can say a lot about my game, but mostly, I've been a pro. Early on, I started a little slower, (I've) been a lot better of late, a little bit. Towards the end, I think I got better (at) being a pro. And just talking about my game, I got a lot better confidence shooting the ball. I just think I got a complete game now, and just getting better every day."

Shooting is one of the two main areas of development for the former Crimson Tide point guard. The other is stepping out of his comfort zone and becoming a more vocal leader. It's something that the organization immediately started working on with Davison after drafting him.

While discussing his progress in that domain, he cited the value of observing and learning from Boston's former floor general, Marcus Smart.

"I started working on it once I got here last year; around Summer League, you're trying to talk with everybody. You know me, I'm kind of a quiet person. Just watching guys like (Marcus) Smart; he's a more talkative guy in the gym every day. So just watching a guy like him and just being a backup to him has helped me out a lot. Just trying to help this young group out here going to Summer League, trying to talk to the guys, (and) be one of the leaders on the court and off."

Tony Dobbins, the head coach of the Celtics' Summer League squad, also shared his perspective on Davison's growth as a leader.

"JD's been great. He is embracing being more vocal; embracing taking ownership of the team, and directing his teammates where they need to be and what they need to do. And that'll, I think, continue to be something that he works on because he's by nature quiet. But I think he's embracing that aspect of the point guard position, and it's something he'll continue to work on as well as the other parts of his game that he's motivated to improve on."

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