With the 54th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics took Anton Watson, a forward from Gonzaga, in the draft. Their second and last choice was this.

Watson, who is now 23 years old, attended Gonzaga Prep and then spent five years playing collegiate basketball for Gonzaga. A consensus 4-star recruit, he was ranked eleventh in the nation for small forwards in 2019.

The 6’8″ Watson started each of his last two years of collegiate play and appeared in 151 games overall. His greatest season came in 2023–2024, when he averaged 14.5 points per game while shooting slightly over 41% from beyond the arc. On the other hand, he had a dismal 62.7% free throw shooting percentage and a 30.7% three-point shooting percentage during his collegiate career.

A solid defender with NBA potential, Watson was highly regarded before the draft. Watson possesses traits similar to those of “Old Al Horford,” a player whose value the Celtics have increasingly appreciated over the past few years, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer’s “shades of…” column. But for a forward in the NBA today, Watson’s explosiveness and versatility are in question. It is uncertain whether his success in protecting bigger bigs like Zach Edey of Purdue will translate to the NBA.

Whatever the situation may be, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has been quite public about the team’s roster being loaded with top-tier talent following the franchise’s 18th championship, so it’s quite unlikely that Watson will see much playing time in the 2024–25 NBA season.

The Celtics renewed their search fоr a tоwering, physically gifted wing whо cоuld prоvide defensive value and shоwed shооting pоtential. An elite shооter with real size, First Rоund pick Baylоr Scheierman has the pоtential tо develоp defensively, and last year’s Secоnd Rоund pick, Jоrdan Walsh, shares many оf Watsоn’s characteristics and shоrtcоmings, including оccasiоnal flashes оf shооting but nо оffensive imaginatiоn оr cоnsistency, and genuine defensive skills.

Before selecting which, if any, of the three could make the Celtics’ regular rotation, they will likely have them all spend a lot of time with the Maine Celtics to hone their three-and-D skills.