Boston Celtics select Chris Cenac Jr. with 27th pick of NBA Draft
The Boston Celtics selected 19-year-old Chris Cenac Jr., a freshman out of Houston, with the 27th pick of the NBA Draft Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-10 forward was a force inside, making 55% of his two-point field-goal attempts for a Cougars team that reached the Sweet 16 of this year's NCAA Tournament. Cenac attempted 90 3-pointers and shot 33% from beyond the arc. At Houston, he was counted on more for his rebounding ability (7.9 this past season) than shot blocking (0.5 per game).
Cenac is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a 2024-25 McDonald's High School All-American. He played in 37 games in his only season at Houston and averaged 9.5 points a game.
Cenac said he didn't work out for the Celtics before the draft but spoke to them during the NBA combine.
"I feel like I can bring a lot to the team and I'm looking forward to getting to Boston and getting to work," Cenac told reporters at the draft.
"He's got a lot to learn. He's got a long way to go. He's got a lot of room to grow," Celtics president Brad Stevens told reporters in Boston Tuesday night. "When I watched him play live several times this year... he didn't always play well, but I never walked out of the gym thinking he didn't play hard and he didn't really, really, really go after it and so I think that's a good place to start."
The ESPN broadcast of the draft noted that Cenac features the same skill set as 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis and holds the potential to be successful as a four or five.
Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports graded the Celtics selection as a "B."
"Cenac has size, length, measurables, athleticism, mobility to slide laterally, and some developing face-up skill and shooting potential. Very fluid multi-directional mover who is equally smooth as a leaper. He was a high-volume rebounder this year and answered questions about his motor in the process, but still has times where the potential exceeds the production. Switchable defender who slides laterally very well for his size. Simultaneously showed spurts of being a high-volume rebounder," Finkelstein wrote.
"Cenac's overall production has never lived up to the totality of his diverse tools, even when playing with a consistently higher motor this year at Houston. Inefficient offensive style. Drifts to the perimeter too often for someone who remains an inconsistent 3-point shooter. Also has a habit of settling for tough twos around the mid-post area instead of pressuring the rim like he should be capable of."