LAS VEGAS — When he was 15, Jordan Walsh did everything he could to be respected as a basketball player. A hard-working defender with length and energy, he was the ideal leader for a team wanting to play the right way.
After being drafted by the Celtics with the 38th pick in June and shining in summer league, he makes it look easy now. But playing high school basketball in Dallas, he struggled to deal with the fact that even when he played well, some fans would often mock him for having Alopecia — a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss in the scalp, face and other areas of the body. Then he saw a video of Charlie Villanueva, who had retired a few years earlier, talking about how he dealt with the disease on his route to a long NBA career.
As much as family and friends tried to help Walsh, nobody had quite the perspective of the only man to have played at the top level of basketball with Alopecia. Villanueva was known for helping kids with the condition, so maybe there was a chance they could connect.
It just so happened that Walsh’s uncle knew Ramon Sessions, who Villanueva took under his wing when he was a rookie with the Bucks years ago. Sessions called his friend and mentor and told him about this kid in Dallas who plays ball, but needed the kind of guidance only Villanueva could provide.
“(Walsh) was struggling with Alopecia and the parents were looking for answers,” Villanueva said. “Lo and behold, I was 30 minutes away.”
It didn’t take long for them to strike up a relationship, as Villanueva became an invaluable guide for Walsh trying to get to the next level as a prospect. Walsh knew he had the potential to be one of the top recruits in the country, but all of that gym work he was putting in wasn’t translating like he wanted once the crowd was in the stands.
As much as he could improve his skill set, the real hurdle was his mindset.
“He was really helpful, more than anything off the court,” Walsh said of Villanueva. “Just with my head, my confidence, just stuff like that, because he understands what I’ve been through. I can tell him everything and he’s been through the same thing. He’s got great advice.”
Villanueva wanted him to change the way he defined his situation. He had the disease, but he was in control of his life. Earning acceptance from the outside world was always going to be a battle, so he had to embrace that he stands out and let his work do the talking for him.
“One thing I told him is to make sure that you have Alopecia and Alopecia doesn’t have you,” Villanueva said. “He’s got to have control of this disease, regardless if your hair is coming back or not. Stay positive and use it as motivation to get to where you want.”
It was one thing for friends and family to try to instill that confidence in Walsh. But this was coming from someone who had achieved everything he was working toward. Villanueva’s validation helped him build the confidence he needed to reach the next level, as he was able to live more comfortably every single day and fixate on his goals rather than how people responded to him.
“Don’t let what you have take control of your personality, control your character, and impact how you treat others and feel on a daily basis,” Walsh said. “I felt like I needed to be in control of my life and don’t let Alopecia be the thing where it quite literally takes control of me and affects the way I move on a daily basis.”
By his senior year, he had transferred to the new Link Academy prep program in Missouri and catapulted to the top 25 of his class as he nearly won a national title. After years of struggling for validation, he was finally seen by the basketball world for who he was.
“Being a kid who was not a five-star (recruit) until his senior year, I had to grind super hard,” Walsh said. “I had to try extra more than everybody else because I wanted to be a five-star, I wanted to get McDonald’s All-American.”
All of that messaging over the years about maintaining confidence through pressure on and off the floor gave him a sense of humility and trust in himself. When asked how he envisions himself in the NBA, he doesn’t shy away from his faults. He acknowledges the work he has to do, believing he’s going to put in the effort to make the most out of his potential.
“I definitely feel like my defensive ability can translate to the NBA,” said Walsh. “Obviously I need to get in the weight room and get stronger. I need to work on my offensive game. But I feel like the main focus of my game and the foundation of my game is defense and being able to guard one through four efficiently. I feel like once I get a little bit stronger, once I learn the game a little bit more and watch the game a little bit more, I’ll be able to do my job, which is to guard the superstars and lock them up.”
There is little about the way Walsh carries himself now that resembles the crisis in confidence he had as a teenager. He knows his place entering an organization going for a title, but he still believes he will find a place in that campaign.
“I don’t know exactly what it’s gonna look like, but I do know that if I keep working hard and do the stuff I need to do to get better, then once I’m playing under guys like Jayson Tatum and JB (Jaylen Brown), I’ll have the chance to get even better and learn some things from them,” said Walsh. “I’m just expecting to go in and work as hard as I can. I want everything I do to contribute to winning this next banner for the Celtics.”
Jordan Walsh in college playing with Arkansas. (Nelson Chenault / USA Today)
As the second round of the NBA Draft began last month, Villanueva was a bit surprised to see Walsh still on the board. Walsh wasn’t invited to the green room in New York, so Villanueva opened his home up to Walsh and hosted his draft viewing party instead.
Sessions — who went on to become Walsh’s agent — was the 50th pick in the 2007 draft. Villanueva was selected seventh two years earlier. Despite their dramatically different paths to and through the NBA, they both ended up playing 11 seasons. Their career scoring averages were separated by 0.1 points per game.
Once you’ve made it, it’s on you to make the most of your career.
“It didn’t matter what pick you go, you can still have longevity in this league if you do the right thing,” said Villanueva. “Him being taken whatever number he was picked doesn’t mean anything. Now the real work starts to showcase his skills and show what he’s capable of doing.”
Villanueva told him anything that’s voluntary is mandatory. First guy in the gym, last guy out. According to Villanueva, it’s the one way to stick around for a while.
Once his freshman season at Arkansas ended, Walsh went straight to work on what he called a “constant grind” to improve his game. He only took a few days off in the months between the end of the college season and the draft. He tapped into that same desire to climb the ladder from when he first started talking to Villanueva in high school and dreamt of becoming a top recruit.
He shot just 27.8 percent from deep in college, then went 4 of 6 in his summer league debut. As his game progressed over his time in Vegas, he started to build hype as one of the steals of the draft.
“For me, whatever the team needed help with, whatever they needed to win, I took that on personally and wanted to become the guy to help us win,” said Walsh.
Boston went 2-3, but Walsh left his mark. He grew as a ballhandler and driver, flashed some of his defensive potential and played with the motor that will get him on the floor when the real games begin.
“He’s surpassing a lot of people’s expectations,” Villanueva said. “But I’m not surprised.”
At times, there were some faint shades of Villanueva in Walsh’s game as he would try to shoot from the wings and attack the hoop along the baseline. But while Villanueva was a skilled big who was even a bit ahead of his time, Walsh is more of a defensive hawk trying to evolve into the NBA game. Though they’ll often be connected for their shared journey, Walsh will grow into his own mold as he finds his place in the league.
“It’s crazy because a lot of people compare us and I want Jordan to be his own person,” Villanueva said. “There’s a lot of comparisons because we’re both light-skinned with Alopecia.”
“Me and CV have lots of similarities, but are two different people with two different lifestyles at this point,” said Walsh. “At the end of the day, I have to be Jordan, I still have to be me. I still have to be authentic and I can’t try to be something that I’m not. Throughout this whole process, he’s just telling me to be yourself and be authentic. I’m not going to fake it because somebody else wants you to be this — staying in yourself and your foundation is what I live by and what I stand for.”
Charlie Villanueva with the Dallas Mavericks in 2016. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
While their NBA careers will likely look different, Walsh can still follow in Villanueva’s footsteps in one crucial way. During his playing career, Villanueva started an outreach program called Charlie’s Angels that would set up meet-and-greets for children with Alopecia in each city he would visit for a game.
“I got drafted when I was 20 years old and I knew the platform and power I had,” said Villanueva. “Having this platform and having all these people with Alopecia looking up to me, it’s like wow, it gives them hope. I embrace that role. Everything happens for a reason and now it’s an opportunity to help others. It’s cool to see (Jordan) on his journey because I’m passing down the torch to him.”
Walsh said he wants that responsibility.
“Some people that aren’t playing basketball are scared to act in certain ways and do certain things because of how they look and how people are treating them,” Walsh said. “Me being able to be that beacon of light and hope for those kids is what drives me.”
Even as he enters the league with the right perspective, things will only get harder. He’ll struggle early on and the spotlight will only shine brighter on the fact he has Alopecia. It won’t always be easy to deal with. But after years of accepting and embracing it, he’s ready to make sure Alopecia is only a part of who he is and not something that defines him.
“I’ve been through a lot of adversity already,” Walsh said. “Villanueva’s helped me through a lot of it, basketball’s helped me through a lot of it. Now that I’m on this stage, it’s even bigger. I’m still gonna go to him when I have tough times and talk to him. Nothing’s really changed, it’s just a bigger stage.”
(Top photo: David Dow / NBAE via Getty Images)