Top Career Performances by Current Celtics

Avery Bradley didn’t notch a career high in the scoring column on March 16, but he did put together his best all-around performance as a pro. Bradley notched 20 points, a career high-tying 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals during 35 minutes of action against the 76ers, accounting for one of his two career double-doubles. What pushes this performance to the top of the list is the fact that Bradley was a plus-19 during the contest, and the Celtics won by 19 points. His top two scoring performances both arrived during losses.

The Celtics let Jae Crowder out of the box upon his arrival to the team on Dec. 19. It was then that his career really began. He got better and better as the season progressed and his role increased, and he was never better than he was during Game 3 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. While going head-to-head with LeBron James, Crowder stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. He did all of this while playing just 31 minutes and attempting only six shots. The lights were shining bright on national television, and Crowder brought the goods against the world's best player.

Jonas Jerebko played well for the Celtics last season, but his top career performance arrived during his time with the Detroit Pistons. On Jan. 13, 2012 against the Charlotte Bobcats, the then- third-year pro notched one of his two career 22-point, nine-rebound games. He was extremely efficient from the floor, making nine of his 12 shot attempts and was 2-of-3 from 3-point land. This game gets the nod over the other 22-point, nine-rebound game because his team got the win and he was plus-16 in the process.

Amir Johnson has played in a lot of NBA games – 317 to be exact – but none featured a better personal performance than that of March 21. Johnson, playing against a title contender in the Oklahoma City Thunder, went off for 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting, while also contributing major numbers across the board. He added 12 rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals during a whopping 50 minutes of action during a double-overtime loss.

When news broke that Kevin Durant would be out for the first month of last season, many believed the Thunder would struggle to fill his void. They didn’t – at least for the first week of the season – thanks to Perry Jones. Jones started the first five games of the season for Oklahoma City and erupted for a Durant-like performance on Oct. 30, tallying a career-best 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers. He also chipped in seven boards, a career-high three assists and a blocked shot. On this night, Jones matched or surpassed Durant’s career numbers three of those four categories.

David Lee stands as the only former All-Star on Boston’s roster. His best performance came only a couple of months after he participated in his first All-Star game. Lee put together a ridiculous line that included a career-high 37 points as well as 20 rebounds, 10 assists and a blocked shot on April 2, 2010 against the Golden State Warriors. The performance accounts for one of his three career triple-doubles. This may have been the game that convinced the Warriors to acquire Lee just months later.

Everyone, including Brad Stevens, wants to see consistency from Kelly Olynyk. That’s because we’ve all seen what he is capable of doing on his best nights. The top performance of Olynyk’s career took place last season, on Dec. 15, 2014 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He came off the bench and torched Philly to the tune of a career-high 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting, all in just 31 minutes of action. He also contributed nine boards, three steals, two blocks and an assist to account for the best all-around game of his young NBA career.

Speaking of consistent, Marcus Smart was exactly that last season. He typically put up modest numbers while doing the little things for the C’s, save for a few occasions, such as March 18 in Oklahoma City. Right down the road from his former college campus, Smart notched a career-high 25 points that featured seven 3-pointers. He led the team in both points and rebounds (nine), while also dishing out five assists, grabbing two steals and swatting away two shots. Oklahoma City narrowly edged Boston, 122-118.

Jared Sullinger went toe-to-toe with one of the NBA’s top centers on Feb. 7, 2014. In fact, Sullinger can even make the claim that he had the upper hand. He and DeMarcus Cousins entertained the TD Garden crowd by dueling it out to the tune of matching 31-point, 16-rebound performances. Sullinger's 31 points stand as a career high, and Boston outscored Sacramento by 17 points while he was on the floor en route to a 10-point victory.

Isaiah Thomas’ career high game of 38 points falls second on this list, because his 33-point performance on Feb. 23, 2014 had much more of an impact on the game. Thomas scored his 33 points via a ridiculous 12-of-16 shooting performance that included a 4-of-5 night from long range. On top of the points, he also dished out six helpers and grabbed three boards and three steals. He single-handedly played a role in nearly half of his team’s points, helping Sacramento outscore Denver by 26 points while he was on the floor and grab a 109-95 win.

Evan Turner’s career renaissance began last season in Boston. It’s no wonder that his top performance took place while he was donning green and white. Turner, who tallied the first three triple-doubles of his career last season, notched his most emphatic triple-double on March 23 against Brooklyn. He finished the night with 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the C’s outscored the Nets by 19 points while he was on the court. He led the game in both rebounds and assists, and fell just one point shy of tying Avery Bradley for the game high in scoring.

As we all know, playing time was hard to come by last season for rookie shooting guard James Young. He did, however, show promise during his 13-point performance on Jan. 5. Young made five of his seven shots on the night, including three of his four 3-point attempts. All 12 Celtics appeared in that game, yet Young stood as one of only five who finished with a positive plus/minus rating.

You must have made a major impact if your team outscored its opponent by 39 points while you were on the floor. That’s exactly what happened for Tyler Zeller and the Celtics on Dec. 5, 2014. Zeller logged a monster double-double that featured 24 points and 14 rebounds, which fell just one board shy of his career-best rebound total. Both of those totals stood as game highs.