Mitchell Robinson is Already Making A Great Impression On Boston Celtics Teammates

The Celtics keep their practice stuff close to the vest, but the early reviews of Mitchell Robinson's training camp so far are pretty glowing

Sep 28, 2026; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Mitchell Robinson (4) talks to reporters during media day at Auerbach Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We’re finally going to get our first look at what Mitchell Robinson can do for the Boston Celtics when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night. All of the theoretical stuff we’ve heard about will finally be put into practice against a live opponent. 

It isn't rocket science. We’ve seen Robinson play center before and we know how good he can be. We’ve seen the Celtics run things with Neemias Queta, who is his own player but is still a reasonable approximation of Robinson. There's a good chance the images in our minds eye will translate to the court. 

Still, we’ll have to wait and see how it actually looks and rely on his teammates to shed some light on his early practice performance. 

So far, the reviews have been good. 

“It's been great,” Derrick White told Celtics On SI. “Mitch is a really good screener, big body that can really get out, throw it up to the top of the backboard and he'll go get it. And even if you do shoot it, like confident that he'll probably get the offensive rebound. So just having that another weapon like him has been great.”

Beyond the on-court stuff, Robinson is really hitting it off with his new teammates. 

“I love Big Mitch,” Jayson Tatum said at the team’s final practice at The Citadel. “Hilarious guy, and he just brings a different dynamic to our team. Obviously his size and his instincts on the defensive end, and obviously being a lob threat and how great of a defender and rebounder he is. I had a hard time boxing him out for the last seven, eight years. So now to have him on our team and just give us a different look is something that I'm super excited about.”  

That extends to Joe Mazzulla as well. 

“He is amazing to be around. He's a great guy,” Mazzulla said on his weekly radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “His way of leading is his ability to make plays on the defensive end, protect the rim, cover for his teammates on the offensive end the way he offensively rebounds the ball.”

It won’t be long before the film can give us a look at how the Celtics maximize his abilities and when in games they will choose to deploy him. And the Celtics keep their practice results close to the vest, but the bits we’re getting right now about Robinson are incredibly encouraging. 

“Yesterday he took it to another level in his defensive communication,” Mazzulla said. “I thought that had a positive impact on his teammates …He’s got a great personality, team-first guy, wants to win, competitive, but you know also has a good head on his shoulders.”