Tacko Fall is coming back, agreeing to a two-way deal to continue his development with the Boston Celtics, which also means he could be again spending time in Portland with the Maine Red Claws.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the deal. The 7-foot-5 Fall has been working closely with the Celtics coaching staff to develop Fall’s skillset and mobility. There is a strong belief among those working with him that Fall has an NBA future, and keeping him in Boston on this two-way deal will help maintain the continuity of his training.

“I know Boston has been really excited about me, they really worked on my game. They have helped me develop a lot this year. And I know they are very excited,” Fall said after a recent charity event. “I’m looking forward to the future. Boston is a great city. I love it here. I tell a lot of people, if I could retire here, I probably would. I could probably work. So I’m really excited about the future.”

A two-way contract is a way for NBA teams to add developmental players like Fall to the roster without taking up a guaranteed spot. He still gets to be with the team, but only officially for 45 days. That generally involves practices and games, but not travel. The rest of the time is spent in the G League, where players spend time playing in games and developing their skills.

Two-way contracts are limited to players in their fourth NBA season or earlier. This is Fall’s second season.

Fall played in 29 the G League games with Maine Red Claws last season, starting 11. He averaged 12.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks. He managed to get some extra time with the Celtics after the pandemic hiatus because the NBA allowed teams to expand their rosters and allow two-way players into the bubble. Fall says that experience was very helpful.

“Overall, I would say the bubble was a great experience. For me, I’ve really used that as an opportunity to really concentrate and pretty much get better,” Fall said. “I spent a lot of time with coach Jay Larranaga and we used to go out and pretty much every single day. I mean there was not much to do in the bubble, so we use that time to get in the gym as much as we could and he kept working on my game pretty much every day. In the three months that we spent there I feel like I made bigger strides.”

Fall became a phenomenon in Boston, with chants of “WE WANT TACKO” filling the TD Garden on a regular basis. When he managed to get into the game, the crowd would explode into near playoff-level hysteria.

“You know what I love about Tacko is he’s got the whole place buzzing and it doesn’t affect who he is,” Coach Brad Stevens said earlier this season. “He’s got a wonderful humility about him. He has what seems to me to be a real self-assuredness. I really admire him because he walks in the building and everybody is talking about him. He dunks and lands on his feet and he’s still hanging on the rim and everybody’s talking about it. My daughter and son are watching the games to watch him. But I admire all the things about him not only on the court but off the court.”