Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens
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The Boston Celtics are already being tipped to remain active in familiar territory late in the first round of the 2027 NBA Draft.
Boston selected Baylor Scheierman with the No. 30 pick in 2024, followed by Hugo Gonzalez at No. 28 in 2025 and Chris Cenac Jr. at No. 27 in 2026.
Early projections suggest the Celtics could find themselves in a similar position once again next year.
No Ceilings NBA currently has Boston selecting at No. 28, where the franchise is projected to target intriguing seven-foot Finnish forward Miika Muurinen.
Boston Celtics Tipped to Target Seven-Foot European Prospect
Muurinen enters the upcoming college season as a freshman with the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Southeastern Conference.
The Finnish prospect initially moved to the United States ahead of the 2023-24 season, spending time at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas and Arizona Compass Prep.
He then returned to Europe to sign with Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade before making his way back to the United States for college basketball.
The 19-year-old is considered a five-star prospect and committed to John Calipari’s Arkansas program in April 2026, joining what is believed to be the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
“He has excellent mobility and agility and can outrun most opponents with his sheer speed, long strides and hunger to score,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi wrote.
“Muurinen is an explosive lob catcher and an emphatic finisher. He also possesses rare body control for his size. On the offensive glass, he is a terrific vertical putback rebounder.”
“Defensively, he shows instincts for jumping passing lanes for steals and has a knack for rotating over for help side blocks, utilizing a 7-foot-2 wingspan and an urge to take timely gambles.”
Muurinen already has experience competing against professionals after making 14 appearances for Partizan last season, including six in EuroLeague competition.
Domestically, he averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.0 steal per game.
His experience also extends to the international stage. Muurinen has already represented Finland’s senior national team 15 times and averaged 6.6 points across eight appearances at FIBA EuroBasket last summer.
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Miika Muurinen Enters Unpredictable 2027 NBA Draft Picture
For a player still only 19, Muurinen will enter the 2027 draft cycle with considerably more high-level experience than the typical college prospect.
His combination of size, athleticism, and professional experience makes him an intriguing talent, although questions have also emerged over his maturity.
HoopsHype’s Sam Yip previously described the teenager as someone who “marches to the beat of his own drum”.
Muurinen’s unusual path has also made his standing among the 2026 recruiting class more difficult to quantify.
ESPN previously noted that he did not feature in the SC Next 100 for his class because he was not attending high school in the United States. However, his scouting grade of 95 would have placed him among the top five prospects in the class.
His early standing ahead of the 2027 NBA Draft is similarly difficult to pin down.
Muurinen does not currently feature in either round of Bleacher Report‘s early mock draft, while ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo did not include him among his initial prospects to watch.
That makes the No. 28 projection to Boston particularly interesting, but there is still an entire college season for his stock to shift dramatically in either direction.
His upcoming freshman campaign at Arkansas should provide a much clearer indication of where Muurinen stands against some of the country’s best young talent.
If his combination of size, mobility, defensive instincts, and finishing ability translates to the SEC, a rise into the first-round conversation would hardly be surprising.
And if he ultimately settles into the latter stages of the first round, the Boston Celtics could once again find themselves considering an intriguing young frontcourt prospect in a very familiar draft range.