Jay Scrubb's long road back to Boston never actually left the city

It’s been a year and a half since the 2023 Summer League. For most, it was just another event on the NBA’s calendar. But for Jay Scrubb, it was a chance to shine. And shine, he did.

Scrubb’s time with the LA Clippers had come to an end, but in just a few games in Las Vegas, he earned a new home on the opposite coast. The Boston Celtics signed Scrubb to a two-way contract for the 2024-25 season.

But in the blink of an eye, that opportunity was taken from him.

Before he even got the chance to play in a single preseason game, Scrubb tore his ACL during practice. All of the hard work evaporated, turning quickly into another lengthy, painful rehab process.

“Of course, when it first happened, it was one of those bitter things, just because I felt like I was heading in the upward direction of my career,” Scrubb told Hardwood Houdini. “I felt like it was one of the best times for me. So, of course, it hurt for me to have to go out that way. But everything happens for a reason.”

Unfortunately for Scrubb, this heartbreak was all too familiar. While in LA, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot after a turf toe injury. And that was just the most recent of his long-term ailments.

“I wouldn't say it's one of those things that you want to get used to, but you want to listen to your body and train your body to avoid those injuries,” Scrubb said. “Doing little things in the offseason. Doing things in the regular season to maintain health. And that's the biggest thing.

“I'm at a point now in my career where I'm listening to my body. Sitting down. If I don't feel good, then I'll do less stuff. But if I feel good and I'm able to push through it, then I'll push through. I just feel it's at a point where you just got to listen to your body.”

The Celtics could have cut ties there. They could have wished Scrubb the best and moved on to their next two-way project. Despite the organization’s deep playoff hopes, an ACL injury was going to keep Scrubb out for the whole year. Barring a miracle, hopes of a return were nonexistent.

Boston eventually filled his roster spot with Nathan Knight, but Scrubb stuck around. But more notably, the Celtics wanted to keep him around.

Jay Scrubb and the Celtics were a team every step of the way

Despite the devastating blow, Scrubb and the team already had a relationship that proved stronger than his impending absence.

“The foundation,” Scrubb said of his relationship with the team. “Them knowing where I want to get as a player and where I wanted to be as a player before the injury. And we just felt like it was a mutual decision to, while I was rehabbing, just to stay in Boston. And just rehab at the facility. Rehab with all the things that I needed to do in Boston. 

“So, that's how that came about. Just building a relationship and building a foundation with the organization, and just coming in and competing every day.”

And though two-way contracts are non-guaranteed, Boston made it a point to do right by Scrubb.

“I think we handled it the right way,” Scrubb said. “Of course, I got waived off the two-way, but my contract was guaranteed, so it didn't really matter. It didn't affect anything. I was able to still rehab and take the full year to reset my brain and not have to rush back and things like that. 

“So, I appreciate Boston for allowing me to go through that rehab process with that on my conscience. Not having to worry about the little things and just worry about rehabbing.”

Thus began the long road back to the hardwood. Months on end of physical therapy, rehab, and training sessions that bled into on-court work, and finally, his return to the green threads he had hoped to don a year prior.

While the Celtics toiled through an NBA Championship campaign, Scrubb battled an entirely different journey. Though the two camps were more connected than most realized.

Scrubb completed his rehab in Boston, and whenever the team got the chance, they were there for him.

“That's the type of organization that Boston is,” Scrubb said. “It's not one guy reaches out. Two guys reach out. It's everybody. Guys were bringing me food. Guys were coming to my hotel room to kick it with me and things like that. It's a family organization, and that played a part in me wanting to come back as well.”

From the players to Joe Mazzulla, the entire Celtics organization was supporting Scrubb every step of the way.

“Joe would send me food. Things like that,” Scrubb said. “And a lot of the guys, a lot of the players would come and kick it with me.”

Now, just over a year after the catastrophic injury that ended his season before it began, Scrubb is back on the court.

The Celtics inked him to an Exhibit 10 deal during training camp as he was finalizing his rehab, but the plan was always for him to join the team up north—Maine.

Scrubb has been a key part of Maine’s rotation through the first few games of their season. One year removed from an ACL tear, he’s playing like nothing ever happened. And that takes a lot more than physical determination.

“Resiliency,” Maine head coach Tyler Lashbrook said of Scrubb. “Resiliency. It's not easy to go through what he went through and to sort of be at this position, and he's just resilient every single day and wants it.”

What could have quickly devolved into a drama-filled situation was anything but. Instead, a heart-shattering injury turned into a year-long team-up between player and organization.

The goal was always to get Scrubb back on the court. But more specifically, to get him back on the court wearing green.

“Just everything about the organization,” Scrubb said of the Celtics. “On the outside looking in, you see the success that they have. All the things that they accomplish. And just being in the organization, I see every day how they compete and how they bring it, and that brought a lot out of me being in Boston. 

“I want to be in the best place that I could possibly be in at this point of my career, and Boston is what I feel like is the best organization right now.”