How Quinten Post went from Boston College and the G League to become a rotation player for the Warriors

Post’s NBA debut was a 48-second appearance Dec. 27 against the Clippers. After being sent back to the G-League, he returned after a 13-minute appearance against the Celtics. He has been part of the rotation since, shooting a blazing 43.1 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 8.6 points as the retooled Warriors soar toward the playoffs.

The process of pinching himself being teammates with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green is ongoing. But Post said he had enough confidence in his skill set to believe he could develop into a productive NBA player.

“I’m so fortunate to be drafted into an organization like this with a winning culture and where every year they’re trying to win a championship,” Post told the Globe. “I’m also happy that I had real vets, real guys that have been around the league, Steph, Draymond, [Kevon] Looney. As a rookie you can just fall in line and follow in their footsteps. It was definitely nerve-wracking at first, going into an organization like the Warriors. It was definitely an adjustment and it took me some time to adjust to the level of play but it’s been awesome.”

Post played one-plus season at Mississippi State, then transferred to BC, earning all-ACC second team in his senior year. The Amsterdam native had overseas offers following graduation, but he wanted to give himself a legitimate opportunity in the NBA.

“In the back of your head as an athlete, you have that unwavering belief in yourself. I always thought that if I got a chance somewhere I could make the most of it,” he said.

Post is the only active NBA player from Boston College and he said he relished his time in Chestnut Hill. He was grateful for the experience as the Eagles were the only major program to offer him a scholarship after he entered the transfer portal.

“I enjoyed my three years at BC,” he said. “I loved playing under coach [Earl] Grant. They let me play with a sort of freedom that unlocked the style of play that also translated to the NBA level.

“The college experience was awesome. Here watching March Madness and playing in the ACC, high-major basketball is one of the coolest basketball experiences I think there is. And just being a student, being an athlete is more than just your sport, it’s also growing as a person and being resilient and getting some life experience.”

The Warriors assigned Post to their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz and he was content with helping the club win. The thought of playing beside the likes of Curry was a distant goal, until it became reality. Golden State was desperate for size and shooting, and Post also added a toughness in the paint. He was the versatile big they had been seeking.

“I was focused on winning the G League at that point,” he said. “I was even thinking I hope I stay in the league. I hope the Warriors want to have me stick around. Playing wasn’t even something I was thinking about because I was focused on the G League. That’s crazy how fast it went after that.”

Playing in such a definitive culture under a veteran coach has been a challenge with the Warriors. Post said he has made his share of mistakes but coach Steve Kerr has exhibited patience with the seasoned rookie.

“I’m really grateful for how much leniency he’s shown me, especially at the start,” he said. “Things weren’t easy and it came with a lot of hardship. He let me play through that and now I feel like I’m part of the team. I know what is expected from me and I know I have some type of value for this team. It’s been a roller coaster but it’s also been really cool.”

Perhaps the coolest aspect is being teammates with the potential Hall of Famer in Curry, the most feared shooter in league history, still playing at an All-NBA level at age 37. Post said it took a few weeks to digest being in such a winning atmosphere.

“That’s kind of what you go through when you first enter the locker room,” he said. “All of a sudden my locker is two lockers away from Steph and then you get to know him as a person and he’s such a humble leader. With all the accomplishments that he has, he just stayed true to himself, so an approachable person, such a friendly teammate. It’s crazy that I’m playing with the best shooter that has ever played. Sometimes I do pinch myself when you realize his greatness and the schemes that teams throw at him. It’s ridiculous what he has to deal with on a nightly basis.”

The Thunder are rolling in the Western Conference, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but they are battering teams with their depth. General manager Sam Presti has made some astute free agent signings as well as having some fruitful drafts, including the trade for 10th overall pick Cason Wallace on draft night in 2023.

Wallace, who spent just one season at Kentucky, has turned into a mainstay in the lineup, a solid shooter and an improving defender, and he’s about to turn 22. While his shooting numbers have dipped from his rookie season, he’s stayed on the floor because of his defensive versatility at 6 feet, 4 inches.

“He’s really improved,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “The great thing about him is his defensive talent and competitiveness allowed us to put him on the floor. I think he started his first preseason game as a rookie. He’s played a lot of minutes. He’s played in big games. He’s played a lot for a guy that’s early in his career for a team that’s a pretty high-level team. He’s gotten reps and he’s developed nicely.”

Key free agent signing Isaiah Hartenstein gives Oklahoma City the bruising physicality it has needed for years. The Thunder were talented during Gilgeous-Alexander’s years, but they lacked toughness.

“Hartenstein has changed us specifically because of his physicality around the basket and the rebounding on both ends, the screening, the rolling,” Daigneault said. “He’s a big that’s very unique to what we’ve had.

“We’ve only had Chet [Holmgren] back with Hartenstein healthy for a period of time, so we’re not trying to assume anything and throw [a two-center lineup] out there in situations that may not even seem ideal. We’ve been able endure those minutes even when it hasn’t been a masterpiece because of their impact on both ends of the floor.”

The Celtics essentially are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to the Knicks’ recent skid, giving the club an opportunity to rest some players and prepare for what is expected to be a rigorous postseason run. Before the Celtics can look forward to an intriguing second-round series with their rivals in the Atlantic Division, they’ll have to worry about the seventh seed. The Celtics won’t know their first-round opponent until a few days after the April 13 regular-season finale.

The opponent will be determined by the winner of the first play-in game between the seventh and eighth seeds. Essentially there are four teams with a shot at facing the Celtics in the first round, with the likely opponent being the Hawks.

Let’s take a look at four opponents and their odds of earning the seventh seed prior to the play-in matchup.

Hawks, 60.8 percent — The Hawks were considered a sleeper early in the season because they knocked off the Celtics and Cavaliers twice and appeared ready to challenge for a top-four seed. But injuries took out rising forward Jalen Johnson and veteran Larry Nance and the club decided to become sellers at the trade deadline. The Hawks moved stalwart De’Andre Hunter to the Cavaliers for Caris LeVert and Georges Niang.

And they traded veteran 3-point shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers for Terance Mann. The Hawks have remained competitive because LeVert and Niang have played above expectations and Trae Young continues to lead the league in assists. Dyson Daniels is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, a terror for ball handlers. Center Clint Capela could miss the series with a ligament issue in his left hand and he’s been banged up most of the season.

Magic, 33.1 percent — The Magic have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams, partly because they’ve been besieged by injuries. Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero missed significant time with oblique injuries but the Magic haven’t been that good with either in the lineup.

Orlando is 13-23 in games Banchero has played and 25-25 in the 50 games for Wagner. Still, the Magic have been good enough to remain in play-in contention, despite the season-ending knee injury sustained by Jalen Suggs. The Magic have been a tough matchup for the Celtics because of their physicality and size, but it appears they don’t have enough to push the Celtics.

The Magic believed acquiring former Denver sharpshooter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would give them much-needed shooting and a floor stretcher. But he’s been abysmal from the 3-point line in his first season in Orlando (31.7 percent) and the Magic are last in the NBA in 3-point percentage (31.0) and makes (10.8) in a league where 3-point efficiency wins games. Not a good recipe for success.

Heat, 3.5 percent — There’s a remote chance the Heat face the Celtics because they are in a complete tailspin. Miami entered Friday with nine consecutive losses, including a home drubbing by the Celtics. But the bottom of the Eastern Conference is so bad, the Heat might not be able to play themselves out of a play-in spot. The Heat still have a 5½-game lead over the Raptors for the final spot and the Raptors have no intentions of catching them.

Miami’s issues began far before its problems with Jimmy Butler. Butler was angry the Heat did little to add to the roster that reached the NBA Finals two years ago. Their major offseason acquisition was signing Alec Burks. After the team mired in mediocrity and Butler made it apparent he wanted out, the Heat moved him to the Warriors and received former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and defensive ace Davion Mitchell.

That has done little to energize the Heat. They have major issues scoring and have a group of underachievers on the roster. Terry Rozier was expected to take over at point guard when the Heat moved a first-round pick along with Kyle Lowry to the Hornets for his services. Rozier has been almost unplayable in stretches.

Jaime Jaquez enjoyed a promising rookie season but has regressed in his second year. The Celtics are 3-0 against the Heat with the final meeting April 2 in Boston, and if the teams collide again in the playoffs, the Celtics wouldn’t have much trouble.

Bulls, 0.9 percent — The Bulls have played better than expected since sending Zach LaVine to the Kings in a sign of a rebuild. Coby White has taken over as the leading scorer and the Bulls continue to play hard under Billy Donovan.

Josh Giddey has meshed well into the system and is enjoying a bounce-back season after being banished to the bench during Oklahoma City’s playoff run last season. A matchup with the Celtics could result in minor intrigue because of the Bulls’ physicality but Chicago would miss swingman Ayo Dosunmu after his season-ending shoulder surgery.

The Bulls, like the Heat, can’t play themselves out of the play-in because Toronto, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia are in late-season tank mode.

But save the top six teams, the Eastern Conference has been putrid and none of the four teams should give the Celtics a challenge if they take the matchup seriously.

The Trail Blazers announced that former Celtic Robert Williams will miss the rest of the season following arthroscopic knee surgery, meaning he’s played 26 games over two seasons with the Trail Blazers and just 61 over the past three seasons. Portland will have to determine what, if any, future Williams has with the club. This is the second of the four-year, $48 million deal he signed with the Celtics in August 2021. Unfortunately, Williams has not been able to stay healthy and the Blazers are loaded on bigs with Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan. The four players the Celtics sent away in trades to set up their championship roster have been felled with injuries. Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, Williams and Grant Williams have missed considerable time since leaving, with Grant Williams out for the season with a torn ACL … The Mavericks assigned Anthony Davis to the Texas Legends of the G League to practice for a possible return this season. The question for the Mavericks is whether it’s worth it for Davis to return to make a run at the 10th and final playoff spot inn the West. It could be in the best interest for the banged-up Mavericks to fall into the draft lottery. With Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively and Dante Exum out, the Mavericks would be better suited preparing for the future instead of risking long-term injury to Davis. Dallas has lost grip on that final playoff spot with the Suns tying them for 10th place and the Blazers two games back. The Celtics could be involved in what team finishes where. They have two games remaining with the Suns and a matchup at Portland on this West Coast trip … The Kings are seemingly locked into the ninth spot in the Western Conference but have been dealing with injuries of late. Domantas Sabonis missed six games with a left hamstring strain, returned for two games and injured his ankle again, in the Kings’ win over the Cavaliers. He will miss at least 10 days but the Kings are likely to host the play-in game. The Kings got off to a fast start under interim coach Doug Christie but have struggled of late, losing six of nine games. But health could be their No. 1 priority heading into the postseason.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.