It hasn’t been easy for Jay Scrubb over the last 12 months.
After a standout performance in the 2023 Summer League—where he played all five games for the Celtics, averaging 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field and an impressive 40% from three—Scrubb signed a two-way deal with Boston in July. However, his momentum was halted when he tore his ACL during practice and was waived in early October.
Nearly a year later, Scrubb has battled his way back.
On Thursday, the Celtics announced they had signed the 24-year-old to an Exhibit-10 contract. In a corresponding move, Boston released undrafted rookie Tristan Enaruna.
“It’s been a battle,” Scrubb said. “Just trying to work hard and get back to where I was at. I have real confidence that I can get back to where I was at, and that’s just what it’s been. Just working. Working every day, just trying to put it all together.”
Scrubb’s battle to get where he is today started long before the injury.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Scrubb was a talented high school player, but he struggled academically, failing out of Central High School with a 0.0 GPA while bouncing between homes and living with grandparents and other relatives in a tough neighborhood.
With the support of his grandparents, he received a voucher to enroll at Trinity High School, a Louisville-based prep school, where he played his junior and senior seasons. Though his situation improved at Trinity, he still graduated academically ineligible for Division I.
His path led him to John A. Logan College in Illinois, where he played two seasons, averaging 20.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Scrubb shot 52.4% from the field, 39.5% from three, and 75.3% from the free-throw line during his JUCO career.
He went on to become the first JUCO player since Donta Smith (Southeastern Illinois) in 2004 to be drafted to the NBA when the Los Angeles Clippers selected him in the second round with the 55th overall pick.
Scrubb signed a two-way deal with the Clippers after being drafted but missed most of his rookie season following surgery on his right foot. The following year, he signed a minimum deal with the Clippers and appeared in 18 games before needing another surgery on the same foot. In 2022, the Magic picked him up on a two-way contract, but he was waived the following July.
Scrubb has been through the rehab process before. But this time, he had a little extra motivation.
“Every time you go through a rehab process, you always learn about yourself and how tough you are mentally,” Scrubb said. “I could have given up, I could have quit, but I wanted to get back out here with these guys. Seeing them win that championship motivated me. It gave me that extra push.”
Even before the championship, Scrubb knew he wanted to be in Boston, staying in touch with the Celtics throughout his recovery.
“We’ve been in communication ever since I got injured,” he said. “So I pretty much knew this is where I wanted to be at, and I voiced it with them that I wanted to be here, and they took good care of me through my rehab process. So I felt like this would be the best place for me to come back.”
Thursday’s practice session at the Auerbach Center marked Scrubb’s first practice since tearing his ACL almost a year ago—and he couldn’t help but smile throughout it.
“I felt great. I felt great to be back out there, getting the wind back, getting my shot back, getting my rhythm back,” he said after practice. “It felt good, and all the guys welcomed me back, so that’s the most important part. It felt exciting. All the work that I put in, seeing it translate to the court, it felt amazing.”
Scrubb mentioned that he and the Celtics are taking things “day by day” and that he is unsure whether he will play in any of the Celtics’ three remaining preseason games. His Celtics debut will likely come in Maine with Boston’s G-League affiliate once the season gets underway on Friday, November 8.
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