The Celtics chosen Gonzaga ahead Anton Watson with the 54th choose within the 2024 NBA Draft. This was their second and remaining choice.
The 23-year-old Watson performed 5 years of faculty basketball at Gonzaga, after additionally attending Gonzaga Prep. He was the Eleventh-ranked small ahead within the nation in 2019, and a consensus 4-Star recruit.
The 6’8” Watson performed 151 video games in faculty, beginning in each recreation he performed his remaining two years. The 2023-2024 season proved to be his finest general marketing campaign, averaging 14.5 points-per-game on simply over 41 p.c from past the arc. Nevertheless, he shot solely 30.7 p.c from three in his faculty profession and a poor 62.7 p.c from the free throw line.
Pre-draft, Watson was hailed as a plus defender with NBA traits. In his “shades of…” part, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor stated Watson has qualities of “Outdated Al Horford,” a participant the Celtics have grown to worth in recent times. Nevertheless, Watson’s burst and switchability are questionable for a contemporary NBA ahead. Whereas he had some success guarding bigger bigs comparable to Purdue’s Zach Edey, it’s unclear if that success will translate to the NBA.
In any case, it’s unlikely Watson will play a lot or in any respect within the 2024-25 NBA season, with the Celtics roster nonetheless stacked with topflight expertise coming off the franchise’s 18th Championship, one thing President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has said brazenly.
The Celtics as soon as once more focused a tall, bodily wing with defensive traits and taking pictures flashes and/or upside. First Spherical choose Baylor Scheierman is an elite shooter with actual measurement that might result in defensive progress, and final yr’s Second Spherical choose Jordan Walsh possesses lots of the similar traits and limitations as Watson: taking pictures flashes however an absence of offensive creativity or consistency paired with actual defensive talents.
The Celtics will possible have all three spend important time with the Maine Celtics to see how their three-and-D qualities develop earlier than deciding which — if any — would possibly crack the common rotation.
