The Celtics used their first-round draft pick to address one of their biggest roster needs.
With the 27th overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, Boston selected Houston big man Chris Cenac Jr.
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The draft began with Brockton native and BYU forward AJ Dybantsa becoming the second consecutive New England product to go No. 1 overall (joining 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, who hails from Maine) and the first Massachusetts-raised prospect to do so since Patrick Ewing in 1985.
The Washington Wizards, draft lottery winners after three consecutive sub-20-win seasons, took Dybantsa with the top pick. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson went second overall to the Utah Jazz, followed by Duke’s Cameron Boozer (Memphis Grizzlies) and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson (Chicago Bulls) to round out a star-studded top four.
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, who grew up in Nashua, N.H., and spent part of his high school career at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, came off the board at No. 17 overall. He’ll join the Detroit Pistons, who acquired the pick from Memphis, via Oklahoma City.
The San Antonio Spurs traded up late in the first round to leapfrog the Celtics and take UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. at No. 26.