SEALED: A top player worth $700 million was welcomed by the Boston Celtics.

SEALED: A top player worth $700 million was welcomed by the Boston Celtics.

Jay Scrubb did not take a straight path to the NBA. NCAA basketball didn’t exist. Not one pick for the McDonald’s All-American team. There were no high school rankings to make him a household name. Scrubb possessed only a dream and an unquenchable work ethic.

There aren’t many players on the list who went from JUCO to the NBA. The majority of players on that list utilized their JUCO experience to secure a spot on a Division I team’s roster, which only served to complicate matters. Not Scrubb. Rather, the free-flowing guard persisted in believing that an NBA team would notice him based on his work ethic and the product he was putting on the court.

Scrubb’s diligence paid off in 2020. The JUCO player of the year was chosen by the LA Clippers with the 55th pick after he declared for the NBA Draft.

In a recent interview, Scrubb told me, “Hearing my name called was a blessing.” “Hey, man, it felt better to hear my name called even though COVID prevented me from walking across the stage. And, naturally, shutting up the naysayers. Everyone who predicted that I wouldn’t survive until then. It goes even further back [to my high school and middle school years] and such; man, that was the most thrilling thing I could do to shut up everyone who was criticizing and doubting me. It was an odd moment for my family and I alone, considering everything we have been through, man.