With the 46th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected Kentucky Wildcats center Amari Williams.
Williams came to Kentucky from Drexel, where he was a three-time Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Year as well as a three-time leader in the CAA in blocked shots.
Making a huge leap to Kentucky and the gauntlet that was the SEC last season, Williams kept getting better and better throughout the season. Starting all 36 games, Williams averaged 10.9 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds. In addition, Williams led the team with a 56.1 field goal percentage.
But the most impressive part of Williams’s season was tying for the team lead with 115 assists. Yes, that’s right. The seven-footer from Nottingham, England, tied for the team lead in assists.
Last year, he and Auburn’s Johni Broome became the first two players in SEC history to have 375+ points, 300+ rebounds, 100+ assists, 40+ blocks, and 20+ steals in a single season.
Williams’s frontcourt presence and ability to step out and play from the high post and perimeter are going to be beneficial for a Boston team in a bit of a rebuild and could be losing Al Horford in NBA free agency. Williams may have been overlooked last season when he transferred to Kentucky, but he quickly became one of Kentucky’s most important players.
His ascent could continue in the NBA with the Cs.
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