Can Celtics land good player with No. 27 pick? Here's what history says originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Only five teams outside of the lottery still own their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and the Boston Celtics are one of them.
They hold the No. 27 overall pick after finishing with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
This is an important draft for the Celtics. They need to continue to add talented young players around their veteran core. The draft is the best place to find these players because they’re on cost-controlled rookie contracts.
Landing an impact player, or even a capable role player, this far down in Round 1 is a challenge, but it’s certainly possible. And the Celtics have actually fared pretty well in this stage of the draft in recent years.
Since 2018, they have drafted five players in the last third of the first round who have been starters or meaningful role players:
- 2025: Hugo Gonzalez, No. 28
- 2024: Baylor Scheierman, No. 30
- 2020: Payton Pritchard, No. 26
- 2019: Grant Williams, No. 22
- 2018: Robert Williams III, No. 27
What are the chances the Celtics get a good player at No. 27? Let’s look at the last 15 players drafted in this spot:
- 2025: Danny Wolf, Nets
- 2024: Terrence Shannon Jr., T-Wolves
- 2023: Nick Smith Jr., Hornets
- 2022: Nikola Jovic, Heat
- 2021: Cam Thomas, Nets
- 2020: Udoka Azubuike, Jazz
- 2019: Mfiondu Kabengele, Nets
- 2018: Robert Williams III, Celtics
- 2017: Kyle Kuzma, Nets
- 2016: Pascal Siakam, Raptors
- 2015: Larry Nance Jr., Lakers
- 2014: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Suns
- 2013: Rudy Gobert, Nuggets
- 2012: Arnett Moultrie, Heat
- 2011: JaJuan Johnson, Nets
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesThe best player from this group is Pascal Siakam, who has become an All-Star level player and was a key contributor on the Raptors’ 2019 championship team. He almost won another title with the Pacers in 2025. Rudy Gobert is one of the best defensive players of his era. He is one of only three players to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award four times.
Kyle Kuzma has had a productive career and played a meaningful role on the Lakers’ 2020 bubble title. Robert Williams III, when healthy, was a good starting center for the Celtics and an elite defensive force. Cam Thomas has averaged 14.9 points per game in his career.
Which players near the end of Round 1 in this year’s draft could become useful role players (or better) for the Celtics?
North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Arizona forward Koa Peat, Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, UConn center Tarris Reed Jr., and Valencia (Spain) guard Sergio de Larrea all are intriguing fits.
The first round of the draft begins Tuesday, June 23 at 8 p.m. ET.
