The 2024 NBA Draft is set to take place on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, and the Boston Celtics will have the final pick in the first round at number 30. After winning their 18th championship with a victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the Celtics will be looking to add a young talent to their roster.
While the player they draft may not have an immediate impact on the team, the selection is still crucial for the Celtics. With the new collective bargaining agreement making it difficult for high-spending teams like Boston to retain all of their key players long-term, hitting on mid-to-late first-round picks becomes even more important.
According to ESPN’s final 2024 NBA mock draft by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, the Celtics are projected to select Jaylon Tyson from the University of California. Standing at 6-foot-7, Tyson is a versatile wing player with guard skills and budding shot-making ability. He averaged nearly 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game this season while shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.
Tyson’s length and versatility make him a valuable asset in today’s NBA, and his skill set would complement the Celtics’ existing roster of wing players. If chosen by Boston, Tyson would join former Cal alum Jaylen Brown, who was the Celtics’ first-round pick in 2016 and went on to become an All-Star and the NBA Finals MVP in 2024.