The annual Red Sox Rookie Development program has several ways of preparing the organization’s top prospects for life in the big leagues.

There’s workouts, media training, volunteering, dinners, and… basketball?

NHL and NBA schedules depending, the Red Sox take their rising stars to TD Garden. Last year it was the Bruins. On Sunday night, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell watched the Celtics defeat the Pelicans 120-119.

For prospects who’ve spent little to no time in the region, it might be their first time seeing Boston sports fans in their frenzied, passionate element. The atmosphere can have a powerful effect on a young athlete. Like seeing their names on the lockers in the Fenway clubhouse, it’s a reminder that they’re making their dreams come true.

“This is my second time in Boston, so I think being here definitely makes it feel a little bit closer, like it’s right around the corner,” Campbell said in his Rookie Development scrum on Tuesday.

“It feels a little bit more real every time I’ve been here because, you know, I’ve been closer in terms of where I’m at,” said Anthony. “But again, the goal, you know, continues to stay the same.”

Watching the National Basketball Association motivates someone whose goal is to play Major League Baseball?

“It definitely fired me up,” Campbell said. “I was actually talking to Roman about it. I really felt something when I was in the Celtics’ stadium.”

Campbell even predicted the score. Or rather, the important half of it. He didn’t think it would be nearly as close. “I said 120-105. I got the Celtics’ score right!” he said.

Anthony, now the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball according to Baseball America, has navigated the spotlight well. Still, he admitted it was nice to be on the sidelines for a change.

“Going to see another team and being a spectator, it’s always fun and you enjoy that since you’re so used to being the one that’s being watched,” he told the Herald. “Just getting to go there and enjoy it with the guys, and obviously the Celtics are a fun team to watch.”

Coming off a championship season and poised for another playoff run, the Celtics were also able to give the prospects a taste of something they haven’t gotten from their own big-league club: winning. The Red Sox have missed five of the last six postseasons and are currently running a three-year drought.

“The Celtics won the championship last year. I think that was also really good to watch,” Campbell said. “The fans, the atmosphere was crazy. I kind of got chills yesterday going into the stadium and everything, just seeing how everybody was interacting and seeing how everybody was super excited about being there, and just all the emotions that go into it, I felt it for sure.”

The prospects also got to see how the Celtics operate behind the scenes. On Monday, they observed team practice at the Auerbach Center and received some guidance from head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff.

“They just gave us advice on how to handle our business, how to handle being a professional,” Campbell said. “It was cool to see the professional players go about their business, especially them being the champions last year. It’s just really good to see how they do certain things, how they go about practice and how they go about themselves.”

Campbell wasn’t expecting the Celtics to make such an impact on him.

“I actually didn’t really grow up a basketball fan, I was really just into baseball,” he said. “But the Celtics experience was really good. That was my second basketball game ever. My first was an Atlanta Hawks game when I was younger. Then (Al) Horford played for the Hawks, actually, so that was a minute ago.”

Anthony was locked in on baseball, too, but growing up in south Florida, he was a casual Miami Heat and Florida Panthers fan, and the Buffalo Bills, his father’s favorite team, reigned supreme. He’s seen how Bruins fans travel for their rivalry with the Panthers, though, and he’s heard Red Sox fans have a strong presence on the road, too.

“I look forward to it for sure,” he said. “I’ll be able to see, hopefully, pretty soon.”

Both players have been on the fast track since being drafted by the Red Sox. Anthony was selected in the second round in ‘22, a month after his 18th birthday. By the end of the ‘23 MiLB season, the 19-year-old Anthony had moved from Low-A Salem to Double-A Portland. The Red Sox moved him up to Triple-A Worcester last August, and he’s a candidate to make the Opening Day roster.

Campbell was a ‘23 compensatory pick because Xander Bogaerts declined his qualifying offer and signed with the Padres. He earned two promotions in ‘24, going from Opening Day in High-A Greenville to joining Anthony in Triple-A.

This week in Boston made their bright futures feel closer and more real than ever. Campbell was wowed by the crowd at TD Garden, but he knows Fenway Park is even bigger. Nearly twice the capacity, in fact. Double the fans. Double the energy.

When his game comes, Campbell knows it’ll feel different. But seeing the Celtics play got him thinking about what that moment will be like. Overcome with emotion? Numb?

“I will definitely feel something. Or I might not feel anything or remember any of it, I don’t know,” he wondered out loud. “It’s different being out there than just observing. I can’t wait for that moment, to be honest.”

At the rate these two are going, they won’t have to wait much longer.