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Clippers 2023-2024 Season Preview: Brandon Boston
Our player preview series for the 2024 Clippers continues with Brandon Boston Jr., one of the team’s youngest players.
BASIC INFORMATION
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 188
Position: Guard
Age: 21
Years in NBA: 2
Key Stats: 6.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists per game on 41.8/41.4/76.3 shooting splits across 22 games as a second-year player.
Contract Status: In the final year of a three-year / 4.3m deal this summer
EXPECTATIONS
Anyone left on Boston Island? For those who are no longer, your departure is justified — not much is happening over there these days, and the forecast isn’t exactly calling for brighter days ahead this upcoming season. The roster remains mostly the same from a season ago, which likely means BBJ will spend much of his third NBA season similarly to his first and second — on the bench or in the G League putting up stats with the Ontario Clippers. That’s my take on the situation, at least. Like Kobe Brown, who I previewed last week, there just isn’t a path to playing time for Brandon, barring injuries or a consolidation trade opening up doors — the latter being obviously preferred.
STRENGTHS
Respectfully, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific strength in Boston’s game at the NBA. Like, which one aspect of his game can I point to and think, “Yeah, that’s his thing.” I’m honestly not sure, and that’s more of a result of Brandon not having had many opportunities to showcase his talent than him not possessing it. But something that won’t change that you can consider a strength, regardless of reps (or lack thereof), is his youthful contributions to the team, which I’d love to see more of.
Me highlighting Boston’s fresh legs, athleticism and willingness to give 100 percent effort each night aren’t cop-outs. No, they’re legitimate values he offers to the team that most players ahead of him in the rotation fail to showcase consistently. While the ceiling we all thought he could hit early on his rookie season may indeed be lowering, there is room on this team for him to come in and do the dirty work while letting the rest fall into place as it comes.
WEAKNESSES
One of the challenging things about not receiving consistent playing time is the lack of both mental and physical development that comes with it. You play a few minutes here and there, catch DNP-CDs, then go down to the G League and play a completely different role before coming back up, and a few months into the season you still haven’t formed an identity.
That’s basically where Brandon Boston Jr. is, but years into his career and not months. As far as his game goes, it’s difficult projecting where he belongs on the floor — he’d be a bigger guard at his height but isn’t necessarily a ball-handler or play-making type, and as a wing, he’s not close to being impactful without the ball in his hand as a floor-spacer. But again, I can’t really blame him all that much for his shortcomings — being drafted to a contender where minutes are hard to come by isn’t exactly ideal for growth. Once he carves out a role, I’d bet on his talent being able to turn into impact and perhaps his confidence producing an identifiable skill — like shooting. But until he earns those opportunities, we won’t ever know.
SUMMARY
As much as I’d like Brandon Boston to get actual minutes for the Clippers in the 2024 season, that would require him to take minutes from players who are better than him. Perhaps that aforementioned potential consolidation trade could clear the way for him to see the floor consistently enough to flash the excitement he brought as a rookie while sustaining the better efficiency he displayed as a sophomore. Boston’s still just 21 years of age with potential left to un-tap. For that, I remain (cautiously) optimistic that this island will flourish again.