Mom says basketball just means more to Jordan Walsh: “It saved him” 

BOSTON — Three-year-old Jordan Walsh didn’t want to let go of his mom on his first day of preschool.

Then, he got into hoops.

“He picks up the basketball, which was almost twice his size, and he goes up to the basket and he puts it in,” his mother, Sandra Walsh, told CelticsBlog. “He never played before — this was preschool. And he just kept playing with it and it was like mom wasn’t there.”

It’s a familiar tale: at a very young age, a future NBA player exhibits a natural inclination toward the sport they’ll ultimately make a living playing. They fall in love with it right away. And, they’re instantly really good. In Jordan’s case, some genetics were working in his favor, too; his father, John, was a former NFL player in his own right.

So, seeing how much their son loved the sport, Sandra and her husband signed Jordan up in a Dallas-area YMCA basketball team when he was just six years old.

Almost immediately, they watched their son dominate the local competition.

Though Jordan’s basketball origin story is similar to most NBA players, the game began to carry significantly more weight at an early age. Just a few years into his athletic career, Walsh began losing his hair. Then, when he was just 9 years old, he was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes complete hair loss.

Sandra described those early years post-diagnosis as “extremely difficult.” The other kids relentlessly made fun of her son, and consequently, he covered his head whenever possible.

His mother simply yearned for him to be happy — and, as such, she absorbed the weight of his struggles.

“That was the only big worry that he had,” Sandra said of the alopecia. “So, that was the big one that I had.”

As Jordan navigated the hair loss, she picked up on something critical; the alopecia faded into the background when her son competed in the sport he fell in love with as a toddler.

“The only time that he did not have anything on his head was when he was on that basketball court,” she said. “That’s when we saw his confidence, and that’s when we saw that he was no longer worried about his condition. It wasn’t until he came off of the basketball court, even when other players would tease him about his condition, he didn’t seem to be at all worried about it.”

In response to the jokes and quips from classmates, Walsh simply outplayed the other kids on the court.

“My husband and I were looking at each other like, ‘Wow, this kid might actually be able to play,’” Sandra said. “He was just a kid — and he’s dunking the ball over all these other kids.”

Basketball gave Jordan Walsh an opportunity

Walsh blossomed into a star in high school, and was ranked No. 7 in his 2022 high school class. He went to the University Arkansas for one year before declaring for the NBA Draft.

The 18-year-old prospect lone’s collegiate season proved to be an up-and-down year. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but struggled offensively and saw more limited minutes than many anticipated.

Some believed he should stay a second year to improve his draft stock, but Jordan was eager to become a pro.

So, as she always had, Sandra supported her son’s desires.

“We considered what he wanted,” Sandra said. “And what he wanted was what we were going to support.”

When Draft Night came around, Jordan paced around the room, worried he might never hear his name. He was ultimately selected by the Boston Celtics as their 38th overall pick.

“I had never seen him so nervous,” Sandra recalled. “And then when they called his name, he almost cried. So, Mom almost cried.”

Sandra said her son was thrilled that the Celtics, in particular, had selected him.

“Jordan was so excited. So automatically, that meant I was excited as well. Jordan was so excited. Jordan was excited. He was excited,” she repeated over and over, trying to find the words to capture the enormity of the moment.

Walsh’s minutes have been sporadic in his first two seasons with the Celtics. He spent most of his rookie season in Maine, where he became a fan favorite, but has been with the parent club his entire sophomore year.

The Walshes, who still reside in Dallas, are both currently in Boston for the Celtics’ entire seven-game March homestand. Sandra said that she watches most of the games on television and takes advantage of the fact she works a remote job and travels to as many games as she can.

Nothing compares to watching games at TD Garden, though.

“When they say it’s ‘different here,’ it really is different here,” she said. “I love being in this environment with all of the fans. It’s just awesome.”

Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Earlier this season, Walsh stepped into the rotation with Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown both nursing a myriad of injuries, impressing his teammates with his immediate defensive impact.

“I didn’t expect it to happen this early,” Walsh told CelticsBlog in November. “Obviously, it’s still early in the season, so I could end up in Maine at some point — but I definitely didn’t expect it.”

Walsh mostly fell out of the rotation with the roster fully healthy but has seen increased on-court opportunities more recently, tallying 21 minutes in a Celtics win over the Blazers and 13 minutes against the 76ers. His only Maine Celtics appearance this season came at his request: “I would have been just sitting in my crib doing nothing. This is a way better alternative.”

Regardless of the fluctuating on-court opportunities, Walsh has embraced the mentorship he’s received from the Celtics’ more veteran players.

“Being the youngest on the team, I think that he’s learning so much from these vets,” Sandra said. “And I love this team. I really do.”

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Now a 21-year-old NBA player, Walsh provides mentorship and support for kids with alopecia who are struggling. He benefitted from his mentorship a few years back, when he got connected with former NBA player Charlie Villanueva who also suffers from the condition.

Now, any time someone with alopecia reaches out, he’ll set up a 1-on-1 Zoom meeting with them.

To this day, his mother still views basketball as a saving grace.

“When he was first diagnosed, we didn’t know what was going to take his mind off of it,” Sandra said. “So, I see basketball probably a little different than other mothers.”

“It saved my son, literally, from a life of insecurity and pain and that kind of suffering that I see. The fact that he’s become such a figure, an image, and a mentor for other kids with alopecia — and he’s been able to do that through basketball.”

This article is part of a series of stories celebrating the mothers of Celtics players for International Women’s History Month. This story about Celtics second-year forward Jordan Walsh is the first in the series.