Life is pretty good for Tacko Fall these days.
He just signed his Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics recently, and this week he's back home in Senegal for the first time in seven years. However, this isn't just a trip to see his family; it's a working vacation for Fall, who's part of an NBA contingent that traveled to west Africa for the 17th edition of Basketball Without Borders Africa, where current and former players help train the top teenage basketball players from across the continent.
But the teenagers weren't the only ones training. So was Fall, who got a chance to meet and train with one of the best big men in the NBA — the Sixers' Joel Embiid. Both players work out with skills trainer Drew Hanlen, and the C's 7-foot-7 big man talked to the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach about the "really awesome" practice session.
“We worked on pretty much a lot of work on the post, and every now and then he would stop and try to show me some things and try to tell me about the game in the NBA," said Fall, who will be fighting for a spot on the Celtics' 15-man roster during training camp. “So I thought that was pretty cool, especially coming from him one of the best, if not the best center in the NBA right now.”
Embiid wasn't the only great NBA center who was giving Fall pointers this week. Fall also met Dikembe Mutombo for the first time, and he took the opportunity to pick the brain of the eight-time All-Star, who Fall told Himmelsbach was "like an uncle and I'm like his nephew."
“He gives me advice, and he talked to me a lot about life in the NBA, especially as a player from Africa, like how you need to behave and carry yourself throughout the NBA. And he told me things about diet and workouts.”
If Fall can channel the all the tips he picked up from both Embiid and Mutombo this week in Senegal, maybe he'll have a chance to be where many Celtics fans would like to see him next season — on the C's roster.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.