The Boston Celtics have the No. 27 overall pick in the NBA Draft, and USA Today's Bryan Kalbrosky projects they will select University of North Carolina center Henri Veesaar.
"We have seen a remarkable improvement from Henri Veesaar after transferring from Arizona to North Carolina," wrote Kalbrosky. "The 7-foot big man from Estonia has an excellent shot diet on offense. The All-ACC big man is scoring efficiently at the rim (especially when cutting or rolling) and on 3-pointers, while also holding his own as a rebounder and passer. Any team looking for a big man who can provide NBA minutes on an expedited timeline, like the Celtics, will have him high on their priority list."
Veesaar was born in Tallinn, Estonia, and played in three colligiate seasons. He started his college career at the University of Arizona in 2022. He did not play in the 2023 season. In the 2024 season, he averaged 9.4 points and five rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game. He transferred to UNC and dominated last season.
Veesaar averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds last year, playing 31.4 minutes per game. He was named Second-Team All-ACC and is expected to be a late first-round pick. Brad Stevens noted after the Celtics' season ended that he wants to add to the team in order to make a bigger impact at the rim. Veesaar can certainly do that.
“My general feeling watching us play in really each of the last two playoffs — the second round against New York, even against Orlando in the first round (last year) — was we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot,” Stevens said on Wednesday. “So we’ve got to figure out a way to do better in that, and I think that one of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim. And I think we do need to add to our team to do that.”
The Celtics could also find a way to trade the pick in a deal to land a proven star. Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors are flying around, and Boston is in play as a landing spot.
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