Not many teams in the NBA playoffs own their first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but the defending champion Boston Celtics do.
The regular season ended Sunday, and the Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets to complete a 61-win season. It’s the first time Boston has won 60-plus games in back-to-back years for the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09.
The first 14 picks of the upcoming draft will be decided via the NBA Draft Lottery next month. The final 16 picks in the first round and the entire second round are determined by final regular season record, which means the C’s have the following picks:
- First round: No. 28
- Second round: No. 32 (via Washington Wizards)
Boston’s own second-round pick (No. 57 overall) is going to the Orlando Magic as part of a previous trade.
The Celtics, Magic and Indiana Pacers are the only playoff teams that currently own their 2025 first-round pick.
The C’s also have the No. 2 overall pick in the second round, via the Wizards, from a previous trade. This is actually a pretty valuable pick because the Celtics will be able to get a first-round caliber player but not have to pay a first-round salary.
The Celtics have a very expensive payroll as a team in the second apron. The best way for these kinds of teams to quickly reload and build strong depth is to draft well because rookies are on cheap contracts.
So it’s important for the Celtics to get a decent player with one or both of their picks in the 2025 draft. And to their credit, they’ve done a good job making the most of their late picks in recent years:
- 2024: Baylor Scheierman (30th overall, Round 1)
- 2022: JD Davison (53rd overall, Round 2)
- 2020: Payton Pritchard (26th overall, Round 1)
- 2019: Grant Williams (22nd overall, Round 1)
- 2018: Robert Williams (27th overall, Round 1)
The 2025 NBA Draft begins Wednesday, June 25.
