The Celtics were rumored to potentially move back into the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, but it was a quiet night in Boston despite some fireworks around the league. The Celtics stood pat with their No. 53 overall pick, choosing former Alabama guard JD Davison.
It was the second straight season where the C’s didn’t have a first-round pick in the draft. They traded the No. 25 overall selection to the Spurs as part of the Derrick White deal at the trade deadline. Boston sent the No. 16 pick in the 2021 draft to Oklahoma City as part of the Kemba Walker-Al Horford swap last summer.
Of course, there wasn’t too much shine for the Celtics in the draft this season. That’s natural considering they made it all the way to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, losing in six games to the Warriors. But the C’s have a talented young core built through the draft, with homegrown talent like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Grant Williams and more.
It’ll be an intriguing offseason nonetheless as the Celtics look to upgrade their depth around the core. Boston president Brad Stevens will have at least some options through free agency and the trade market, though it’ll be interesting to see how he upgrades the roster.
“Very young, very explosive, that’s pretty obvious,” Stevens said of Davison. “He has the ability to get inside the paint and make plays and has some things that he’ll have to improve on, but has a lot of physical tools. A good competitor.”
Next up for the C’s, aside from free agency, will be Summer League, which is set for July 7-17 in Las Vegas. That’s where some of the young talent should shine and try to get some live-game reps.
Here are four things to know about Davison:
Highlight dunks, raw athlete: Pull up a Davison reel and there’s plenty to like based off his highlights. The dunks and athletic plays are all there, including some scattered 3-point shots. Davison was regarded as one of the best athletes in the draft class, and the 6-foot-3 guard showed that at multiple points in the season. But he’s still a raw basketball player, which Stevens said they’ll look to help improve throughout his career.
Up-and-down college career: Davison certainly had moments where he shined, including a career-high 20-point performance against Gonzaga and a game-saving block against Houston. But there were also duds throughout the season, where he looked like a freshman playing at the college level. He arrived at Alabama figuring to be a potential first-round pick, though his stock dropped throughout the season. But the talent is there as the Celtics hope to help the 19-year-old find some consistency in the pros.
Decorated high school career: Davison had all the accolades going into Alabama as he was a McDonald’s All-American and five-star prospect. Davison was also a two-time Alabama Mr. Basketball in his final two seasons of high school ball. 247Sports ranked him the No. 13 player in the 2021 class as he picked the Crimson Tide over offers from Auburn, Michigan, Kansas, LSU and more. He likely came into college planning to be a one-and-done player, and did just that. But he fell deep into the second round to the Celtics.
Potential weaknesses: Davison’s consistency leads a lot to be desired. He had plenty of highs in college, but his production dropped off at times for a similarly-inconsistent Tide team. A problem area was also his outside shooting as Davison hit just 30.1% of his 3-pointers in his lone college season. The turnovers and decision-making were also problematic at times. His 4.3 assists average led the Tide, but he coupled that with 2.9 turnovers per game.