Former Alabama Guard Waived by Boston Celtics

JD Davison was named the NBA G League MVP this past season.

Oct 15, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Celtics guard JD Davison (20) looks on against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Former Alabama men's basketball guard JD Davison has been waived by the Boston Celtics, the team announced on Thursday.

This comes as a bit of a surprising move as Davison was named the NBA G League MVP on April 2 and had the Celtics exercised their team option on him on June 29, which was worth $2.27 million non-guaranteed.

The two-way guard averaged 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 48.2 percent from the field in 45 overall games this past season for Maine. His dominance led Maine to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2025 NBA G League Playoffs.

The 22-year-old appeared in 16 games for Boston in the regular season and four contests in the playoffs, averaging between 3-to-6 minutes on the floor.

In the 2023-24 season, Davison won his first NBA ring after Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Davison is the fourth Crimson Tide product to win a ring, joining Robert Horry (7 rings). Jason Caffey (2) and Mo Williams (1).

However, the No. 53 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft will continue his professional career elsewhere. Based on his performance in the G League, NBA teams could be looking to add him to their rotation.

Ranked as the 57th overall draft prospect by Sports Illustrated, Davison entered his freshman season with the Crimson Tide as the top recruit in the state of Alabama. Winning Mr. Basketball his senior season, Davison had built up a reel of highlight dunks and athletic plays that took the Alabama fan base by storm.

Entering his freshman season with the Crimson Tide, Davison was projected to be a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after a one-and-done season. Davison ultimately opted to play just one season with the Crimson Tide, but his draft potential tanked following what many fans considered to be an underwhelming freshman year.

In the 2021-22 college basketball season, Davison saw playing time in 33 games with six starts on the year. Averaging 25.8 minutes per game, Davison finished fourth on the team in points with 282, an average of 8.5 per game. He also finished third on the team with 157 rebounds and second in assists with 95 — just three assists shy of team leader Jahvon Quinerly.