While the Celtics front office is busy fielding calls for prospective trades, they’re also working out guys ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. The C’s hold the No. 28 and No. 32 overall picks in this year’s draft, though they could always trade up or down depending on who they want to bring into the organization.
As part of predraft workouts, the C’s watched All-American and SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome, per the Arizona Republic. Broome said he’s also worked out for the Pistons, Hawks, Nets, Clippers, Warriors and Raptors, with more coming down the line.
That’s a busy schedule but also part of the predraft process for prospects. The draft is set for June 25-26, so there’s only so much time for guys to appeal to front offices. Broome is widely projected to go in the second round of the draft.
Broome, who turns 23 next month, had a stellar season for Auburn as one of the best players in college basketball last season. He led the Tigers to a Final Four berth, along with the SEC regular-season championship. Auburn was one of the top teams in the country last season with Broome leading the way.
Broome averaged 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 36 games for the Tigers. While he was a National Player of the Year candidate, projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg earned most of those awards in a stellar season at Duke. Still, Broome was a nice feel-good story after starting his career at Morehead State.
While Broome can rebound the ball well and plays with a high motor, it’s unclear how he’ll fit into the next level. He was measured in at 6-foot-9 without shoes and a 7-foot wingspan; he also had a 28-inch max vertical leap. The shooting is also a big concern as he made just 27.8% of his 3-pointers and 58.7% of his free throws. Still, teams are bound to be interested in him after a solid five-year college career.