Celtics

2022 NBA Draft guide: When the Celtics pick, top prospects, and more

Boston only has one pick in this year's draft.

By Conor Roche

June 20, 2022

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Right as one season ends, a new one begins.

A week after the 2022 NBA Finals ended, the 2022 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday night. The Orlando Magic won the Draft Lottery in May and will hold the top pick in Thursday’s draft while the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets hold the No. 2 and 3 picks, respectively. The Sacramento Kings (No. 4) and the Detroit Pistons (No. 5) round out the top five.

The Celtics aren’t currently expected to have a busy draft night. They traded their first-round pick for the second straight year, moving their 2022 first-round selection to the Spurs as part of the deal to get guard Derrick White. Last year, they traded their first-round pick (No. 16 overall) to the Thunder along with Kemba Walker for Al Horford.

Boston does have its second-round pick still in the 2022 NBA Draft. It also has control of its first-round pick in each of the next five drafts and three former first-round picks still on rookie contracts (Grant Williams, Aaron Nesmith, and Payton Pritchard), among other assets, at its disposal if it wants to trade back into the first round.

In each of the last two drafts, the Celtics have selected a foreign player with their second-round pick (Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin) with the purpose of stashing them until they believe they’re ready for the NBA. Boston could do that again this season as it currently has 12 players under contract for next season.

Here’s everything else you need to know about the 2022 NBA Draft.

The basics

When: Thursday, June 23

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn

Time: 8 p.m.

TV: ESPN, ABC (first round only)

Format: There are two rounds, 30 picks in the first round. Unlike most years, there will only be 28 picks in the second round because the Bucks and Heat both lost their second-round picks due to tampering violations. There are five minutes per pick in the first round and two minutes per pick in the second round.

When the Celtics pick

The Celtics only have one pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and it comes near the end of it. Boston’s lone pick is the No. 53 overall pick, which is the sixth-to-last pick in Thursday’s draft.

Full draft order

First round:

1. Orlando
2. Oklahoma City
3. Houston
4. Sacramento
5. Detroit
6. Indiana
7. Portland
8. New Orleans (from Los Angeles Lakers)
9. San Antonio
10. Washington
11. New York
12. Oklahoma City (from LA Clippers)
13. Charlotte
14. Cleveland
15. Charlotte (from New Orleans)
16. Atlanta
17. Houston (from Brooklyn)
18. Chicago
19. Minnesota
20. San Antonio (from Toronto)
21. Denver
22. Memphis (from Utah)
23. Philadelphia
24. Milwaukee
25. San Antonio (from Boston)
26. Dallas
27. Miami
28. Golden State
29. Memphis
30. Oklahoma City (from Phoenix)

Second round:

31. Indiana (from Houston via Cleveland)
32. Orlando
33. Toronto (from Detroit via San Antonio, Washington and Chicago)
34. Oklahoma City
35. Orlando (from Indiana via Milwaukee)
36. Portland
37. Sacramento
38. San Antonio (from Los Angeles Lakers via Chicago and Washington)
39. Cleveland (from San Antonio via Utah)
40. Minnesota (from Washington via Cleveland)
41. New Orleans
42. New York
43. LA Clippers
44. Atlanta
45. Charlotte
46. Detroit (from Brooklyn)
47. Memphis (from Cleveland via New Orleans and Atlanta)
48. Minnesota
49. Sacramento (from Chicago via Memphis and Detroit)
50. Minnesota (from Denver via Philadelphia)
51. Golden State (from Toronto via Philadelphia)
52. New Orleans (from Utah)
53. Boston
— Milwaukee (forfeited)
— Miami (from Philadelphia via Denver; forfeited by Miami)
54. Washington (from Dallas)
55. Golden State
56. Cleveland (from Miami via Indiana)
57. Portland (from Memphis via Utah)
58. Indiana (from Phoenix)

Top prospects

Jabari Smith Jr., F

Age: 19 Height: 6-foot-10 Weight: 220 pounds

The Auburn product is viewed as one of the top three prospects because of his combination of size and shot-making. As a freshman, Smith scored 16.9 points per game, making 42 percent of his 3-pointers on 5.5 attempts per game. He added 7.4 rebounds per game, earning him second-team All-American honors.

Chet Holmgren, C

Age: 20 Height: 7-feet Weight: 195 pounds

Holmgren is also a contender to be the first pick of the draft. In his lone season at Gonzaga, he scored 14.1 points and grabbed 9.9 rebounds per game. There have been questions if Holmgren can hang with NBA big men due to his skinny frame, but he did win his conference’s defensive player of the year award and has shown outside shot-making ability, making him an enticing prospect.

Paolo Banchero, F

Age: 19 Height: 6-foot-10 Weight: 250 pounds

Banchero is viewed as one of the three top prospects in the draft by most scouts. As a freshman, he helped Duke reach the Final Four, scoring a team-high 17.2 points per game. Banchero has stated he’s modeled his game after Celtics star Jayson Tatum, another Duke product.

Jaden Ivey, G

Age: 20 Height: 6-foot-4 Weight: 195 pounds

The Purdue guard is arguably the most electric prospect in the draft. Ivey threw down several exciting dunks this past season, helping him score 17.3 points per game. He also has shown perimeter shooting ability and dished out 3.1 assists per game last season.

Keegan Murray, F

Age: 21 Height: 6-foot-8 Weight: 225 pounds

Murray was one of the country’s top scorers at Iowa last year, scoring 23.5 points per game. He had a tremendous rise as a prospect after not being ranked as a recruit out of high school. Murray will turn 22 in August, making him a relatively older prospect.

Bennedict Mathurin, G/F

Age: 20 Height: 6-foot-6 Weight: 210 pounds

Mathurin was a key reason for Arizona’s comeback year in 2021-22. He scored 17.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 36.9 percent from 3-point range, earning him PAC-12 Player of the Year honors.

Shaedon Sharpe, G

Age: 19 Height: 6-foot-5 Weight: 198 pounds

Sharpe is arguably the most intriguing prospect in the draft, if only because he didn’t play this past season. Sharpe committed and signed on to play with Kentucky, but both sides mutually agreed to not have him play this past season. Sharpe ended up declaring for the draft despite not playing a minute with the Wildcats.

Dyson Daniels, G/F

Age: 19 Height: 6-foot-9 Weight: 200 pounds

Daniels is the top non-NCAA prospect in this year’s draft. Playing with the Ignite, the development team affiliated with the NBA’s G League, Daniels scored 11.3 points, grabbed 6.2 rebounds, and dished out 4.4 assists per game.

AJ Griffin, F

Age: 18 Height: 6-foot-6 Weight: 222 pounds

Griffin, who played alongside Banchero at Duke, is one of the top 3-point shooting prospects in this year’s draft. He made 44.7 percent of his 3-pointers this past season, helping him score 10.4 points per game as a freshman.

Johnny Davis, G

Age: 20 Height: 6-foot-5 Weight: 194 pounds

Davis had a strong all-around season at Wisconsin in 2021-22. He scored 19.7 points and grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game, earning him Big 10 Player of the Year honors and first-team All-American spot.

Latest draft rumors

• There still remains uncertainty on who the Magic will take with the No. 1 pick. Smith is currently the favorite (-175 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook) while Holmgren and Banchero are projected to go No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
• Several reports have come out since the Draft Lottery that the Kings are looking to move the No. 4 pick to add a talented veteran. However, Sacramento is “becoming increasingly comfortable drafting at No. 4,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
• With Smith, Holmgren, and Banchero expected to be the top three picks in some order, many draft analysts believe the draft unofficially starts with the No. 4 overall picks. While Ivey is viewed as the consensus fourth-best prospect in the draft, he told reporters on Monday that he hasn’t even had contact with the Kings yet.
• The Knicks, Pistons, Pacers, Wizards, and others are looking to move up to the No. 4 pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.