‘I turned the page.’ Killian Tillie focused on the future, not fixated on the past after waiting 851 days to get back on court

LAS VEGAS – When Killian Tillie’s first 3-point attempt didn’t drop during an NBA Summer League debut with the Boston Celtics, he didn’t flinch. When his driving floater rimmed out 70 seconds later, Tillie shrugged it off and moved to the next play. When another 3 missed toward the end of the first quarter, Tillie was hardly bothered.

When the former Gonzaga forward pulled up to the postgame media area at Cox Pavilion after making one of his five field -goal attempts in a five-point loss to the Miami Heat?

All smiles.

Tillie wasn’t oblivious to the stats – and accurately predicted his shooting percentages would straighten out over five games in Las Vegas – but on July 13, he wasn’t in a position to take issue with any of the digits that showed up on the box score.

Just as long as his name appeared on it.

“I was very happy to get back, because it was two, 2½ years of nothing. Just watching TV and it was just a lot of fun to be back out there,” Tillie said. “I know some shots didn’t really get in, but I didn’t care. I just shot the same shot over and over again and I was just happy to be out there, playing with some energy.”

Tillie’s layoff was much closer to 2½ years than two, and may feel more like three considering the physical agony and emotional pain he’s undergone in his time away from the game, especially at a crucial juncture of his career .

The official count is 851 days – 851 days between Tillie’s last game in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform, on March 15, 2022, against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and the Summer League opener on July 13 at UNLV.

The wait was one year longer than Tillie expected.

The return? Sweeter than he could’ve anticipated.

The next item on the agenda?

“Just play,” Tillie said. “I just want to show teams I’m healthy, I’m back and that I haven’t missed a beat. Be able to play and I can help a team win a championship. So make a roster, for sure.”

After suffering a back injury that forced him to undergo a medical procedure and miss the final two months of the 2021-22 NBA season, Tillie hadn’t been cleared for a full return when he was waived by the Grizzlies on Oct. 15, 2022, just three days before the team’s regular-season opener.

Tillie returned to Spokane, rehabbed, recovered and ramped up for training camp workouts in the late spring/early summer with hopes he’d latch on with another NBA team. The 6-foot-9 forward had a number of feelers, with strong interest coming from the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers in particular.

Tillie’s comeback was nearly complete when he endured another untimely setback, injuring his ankle during a free agent workout.

“I had a big summer last summer then got hurt right before the training camp, so had to do a whole other year of sitting around, rehabbing,” he said. “… So just a lot of rehab, but I came to work every day and did my job, did all my routines I’m supposed to do and I didn’t think twice about it. I knew if I did the work, I would get back healthy.”

No stranger to adverse situations and a master in the art of patience, Tillie, who went through a variety of ankle, foot, knee and back issues during his time at GU and first two seasons in the NBA, fell back on familiar habits to overcome his latest injury.

The Frenchman recently purchased a home in Spokane with his fiancee, Hailee Etter, a former volleyball standout at Shadle Park and Eastern Washington, and conducted most of his rehabilitation and strength training sessions at Gonzaga’s Volkar Center.

To get back into playing shape, he made frequent trips to the Shoot 360 facility owned by former GU standout Dan Dickau and worked closely with general manager Stephen Madison, a former Idaho basketball player who doubles as a personal trainer for the franchise’s North Spokane location.

“It was bad timing, but I don’t really want to think about it anymore,” Tillie said of the injury. “I turned the page and I’m just happy to be on the court.”

By late spring, Tillie was prepared to resume his professional career, but he took a more cautious and intentional approach this time, only conducting a few workouts before his agent began making phone calls.

One of those was to the Celtics, who were in the process of completing a 4-1 NBA Finals series win over the Dallas Mavericks when they agreed to bring Tillie in for summer league.

“They’re a great organization to be with so I didn’t think twice,” Tillie said.

He instantly felt at home, receiving first-class treatment from everyone he encountered during a brief stay at Celtics training camp in Boston – “from the (coaching) staff to the kitchen to everybody,” Tillie said – and the situation only improved when he learned he’d be reacquainting with a former college teammate at Summer League.

According to the timeline that Tillie provided, his summer league invite came approximately one month before the team opened up in Vegas, which would’ve also come about a week before the Celtics used a second-round draft pick on Gonzaga’s Anton Watson, who was a freshman during Tillie’s final season with the Bulldogs.

Watson agreed it was a fortuitous reunion between the former teammates, who evidently hadn’t lost their on-court chemistry when they checked into Boston’s summer league opener at the same time in the first quarter and combined to force a shot-clock violation on their first possession.

“I love playing with Killian,” Watson said. “I wish I could play with him the rest of my life. Just his feel, his touch. Kind of reminds me of myself, tip outs, he does those things. Then obviously he’s a great shooter and he has that floater around the rim, but playing with him is super fun and just being around him.”

Tillie came off Boston’s bench for the first two games in Vegas, but worked his way into a starting role for the final three. After a bumpy start in the opener against Miami, Tillie didn’t need much time to settle in and the forward made 15 of 28 shots from the field, including 7 of 15 from the 3-point line, during his final four games while averaging 9.5 points in those contests. He also averaged 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

Boston encouraged Tillie to shoot freely from the perimeter – something that never required much convincing while he was at Gonzaga – and the Celtics allowed him to guard a variety of positions on defense as a result of their heavy switching schemes.

“Boston, they want to shoot 3s, so you know we’ve got the green light,” Tillie said. “They give us confidence to shoot every time and also crash the boards and do a little bit of everything. Also defensively, they like to switch on everything so being able to switch on smaller guards is important to be in the league, be a strength on defense. That’s a good thing to do.”

Whether Tillie’s summer league stint will translate to a two-way or G League opportunity with the Celtics or another NBA team remains to be seen.

One certainty is that he’ll be back in Spokane, likely working out at the Volkar Center until the next opportunity arises. Before linking up with the Celtics, he had regular weight-room run-ins with Mark Few before the Gonzaga coach left for the Paris Olympics.

Tillie said he didn’t offer any food or entertainment suggestions for his home country but noted Few wasn’t pleased to be opening the tournament in Lille, roughly three hours north of the Olympic headquarters in Paris.

“He’s not too happy about it,” Tillie said.

The relationship Tillie has with Gonzaga is reciprocal – both parties benefiting equally, willing to help the other.

The former All-WCC forward has full access to the school’s basketball facilities and he can anticipate a call from Few whenever the Zags have a French recruit in town.

Tillie had a courtside seat when GU hosted wing Ilane Fibleuil on an official visit two years ago and did the same when French guard Nolan Traore – a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft – came to campus for last season’s game against San Diego State.

Tillie said he’s still motivated to help the Zags capture a national championship, which he nearly did during his freshman season, grabbing nine rebounds in the team’s 2017 loss to North Carolina.

“It’s a family for life,” Tillie said. “Always, if I have anything, they help me with it and I will always return the favor also because I’m part of the program and I want to help them win a national championship one year and hopefully next year with the team we have, we will do it.

“But one year we will do it, for sure.”