Within two weeks of earning the 2024-2025 G League MVP award, JD Davison is now a full-time NBA player. Days ahead of their 2025 playoff run, the Boston Celtics promoted Davison to a standard contract, giving him their final roster spot on the active roster.
The Celtics converted Davison’s two-way contract to a standard two-year deal on Saturday, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal makes him just the third former G League MVP currently on a standard contract, joining the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Boucher and the Detroit Pistons’ Paul Reed.
In his third professional season, Davison has appeared in 15 previous games for the Celtics, averaging 1.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 5.1 minutes per game. However, with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate, Davison averaged 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 45 games. He led the league in total points scored on the year.
Before turning professional in 2022, Davison spent his lone season of college basketball with Alabama in 2021-2022. He landed in Tuscaloosa as a five-star prospect but averaged just 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game as a freshman. Regardless, he declared for the 2022 NBA Draft, where the Celtics took him with the 53rd overall pick in the second round.
JD Davison joins Celtics for 11th consecutive playoff run
Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Davison’s promotion comes just as the Celtics begin their playoff pursuit and attempt to become just the 14th team to win back-to-back NBA titles. The defending champions enter the Eastern Conference playoff bracket as the No. 2 seed, giving them the inside track toward another potential NBA Finals bid.
With the regular season wrapping up shortly, the Celtics will await the results of the play-in tournament to determine their first-round matchup. The Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls will face off in the 2025 Eastern Conference play-in format. Should the Heat come out on top, they will face Boston in the first round for the second consecutive season.
As defending champions, the Celtics are one of the betting favorites to defend their title and win the 2025 NBA Finals. If they do so, they will be the first team to win consecutive Larry O’Brien Trophies since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018. Boston previously claimed back-to-back championships in 1968 and 1969.
