The Boston Celtics had one of the final picks in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night. Despite having a late pick (No. 27), there was pressure on the Celtics to take an impact player after being eliminated in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, and after missing out on the trade to acquire Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With their 27th overall pick, the Celtics selected center Chris Cenac Jr., a freshman forward from the University of Houston.

The 6-foot-11, 240-pound center averaged 9.5 points across 37 games (36 starts) on 48.5 percent shooting from the floor. Cenac also averaged 7.9 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 0.7 assists and 0.5 blocks per contest.

He attended the same high school (Newman in LA) as University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

Here's what else you need to know:

The Celtics were connected to UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. but he was selected one pick earlier by the Denver Nuggets and then traded to the San Antonio Spurs. Neither Meleek Thomas of Arkansas or Henri Veesaar of North Carolina were taken in the first round. 

As we've talked about all offseason, the Celtics have a clear desire to get better on the interior, and Cenac represents that. He has the ability to play physically on the inside and outside, which should help a Celtics team that has suffered in that department over the last few years. However, he's also a capable three-point shooter, which means maybe he can grow into that stretch big man like Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis were when Boston won the title in 2023-24.

Well, the Celtics did not trade Jaylen Brown on night one of the draft, so there's still a chance that that deal could happen on night two. Beyond that, the Celtics have the No. 40 pick in the draft, so they will have one more selection.

Boston may get a shot at Thomas or Veesaar, but Alex Karaban (UConn) is off the board. He was taken by Cleveland traded to Sacramento. The Southborough, Mass. native would have been a fan favorite pick had he been chosen by the C's.

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