Re-Grading the Celtics' Last 5 Drafts Ahead of 2024 Event

The Boston Celtics have drafted 11 players over the past five years, but only one of those picks was part of the rotation for this year’s team that captured banner No. 18 with a 4-1 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

Still, each draft and the subsequent moves made with those picks and players helped bring the 2023-24 Boston Celtics team into being.

Let's take a look at each of the last five drafts and grade them based on how they shaped the Celtics franchise into world champions.

2023 - Julian Phillips (#35)

Phillips was technically announced as a Celtics draft pick, but he was really selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 35th pick in the 2023 draft. The Bulls had acquired the pick from the Washington Wizards, who got it from Boston in the Kristaps Porzingis deal.

Phillips’ role (albeit an incidental one) in bringing Porzingis to Boston obviously had an earth-shattering effect on the franchise’s prospects. Perhaps as impactful as the arrival of Porzingis was the departure of Marcus Smart, who headed to Memphis in the three-team trade. His removal as the longest tenured veteran of the squad opened up the opportunity for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to take the reins as the team’s leaders. 

Draft Grade: A-