At this time last year, I ranked the Celtics roster based on who the best players on the team are, not most important to the team. Let’s run back before training camp starts.
We all know how great Tatum is and how much the Celtics are going to miss him. The team’s best scorer, passer, rebounder and most versatile defender when healthy, Tatum likely won’t be that even if he does return this season. But when he has two legs that work at their highest level, Tatum is the best player on the Celtics and one of the five best players in the league (LockedOn NBA notwithstanding).
Let’s get into the rankings.
Shulga left something to be desired in Summer League after being the 57th overall pick in the NBA Draft. He didn’t turn the ball over much during the five games he played with just 0.6 turnovers per game as a point guard. However, the 24% from the field and 21% from three he shot was not what Boston was looking for.
Although he went undrafted, Luis was a better college player than Shulga was and has more scoring prowess than Shulga does. Luis did not play in Summer League due to a left knee issue and was traded to the Celtics in August as a part of the Georges Niang salary dump. At 6’7”, Luis’ size and athleticism have a chance to translate to the NBA.
The 46th pick in the draft, Williams was a player who stood out at Summer League with his passing ability. The rest of his game needs to come along, primarily his defense, but I think that Williams has a skill set that the Celtics can work with and develop into a solid player.
Just the 2nd first round pick of the Brad Stevens era, Gonzalez is the only Celtic rookie on a standard contract. The Celtics are going to need him to find his three-pointer if they want him to become a player that they can rely on. He had a solid Summer League but nothing special, so it will be interesting if he is able to grab some of the minutes available on the wing.
Last year was not the year the Celtics or Xavier Tillman was hoping that Tillman would have. After playing solid minutes during the 2024 playoffs, Tillman looked cooked last season. This was due to knee inflammation that lingered all season long. If Tillman can get back to the way he was playing during the championship run, he has a chance to play big minutes at center for the Celtics.
However, I am not expecting that because it is really hard to bounce back from knee injuries like Tillman had. The Celtics were hopeful that Tillman’s three-point shot would come along, too. It has not yet and I don’t think it ever will, but we will always have his three-pointer in Game 3 of the Finals.
I think I am lower on Walsh than the consensus might be, but at some point, players are what they are. Walsh had a solid Summer League, a step up from his disastrous 2024 run, but he never looked like the best player on the court and he should have. That seems like a high bar to climb but he was playing against guys who have played less minutes in the league than he has. The shot just hasn’t developed the way Boston had hoped it would as we enter his third NBA season, so he doesn’t provide a ton of value offensively. I think the Josh Minott signing signals what the Celtics think of Walsh’s long-term outlook.
The Celtics really like Luka Garza. It sounds like an obvious statement, but they signed him over a bunch of different players who are likely better than Garza for a position they badly need some depth. Garza’s defense leaves a lot to be desired, but he has shown he can score the ball down low, shooting 65.5% on shots inside of 10 feet last season. The Celtics think they can unlock something in Garza, and I am anxious to see if they can.
I really liked the way Scheierman closed last season. From March 15th to the end of the regular season, Scheierman played in all but one game, averaging 6.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 40% from the field and 37% from three. His assists mark doesn’t show it, but the best part of Baylor’s game is his passing. His court vision is really fun. I am worried, however, about his lackluster Summer League. Poor shooting luck definitely played a part, but Scheierman didn’t stick out in any way during Summer League where he should look like one of the best, if not the single best, players on the court.
Josh Minott is in a similar position that Jordan Walsh is as an athletic wing that struggles to shoot three-pointers. Minott had a good season inside of the arc last year, shooting 64% on two-pointers. His athleticism should allow for him to be a good defender on this team, something Boston will need badly.
Neemias Queta played well against stiff competition in EuroBasket. I will be honest, I am not all that interested in Queta’s offense. He is what he is on that side of the court. A rim running big who is a good screen setting, good lob finisher and finished around the basket better last season than he did in 2024. Sure, his passing coming along would be nice, but I am not too worried about that. It is the defensive side of the floor we need strides from Queta on. I want him to become a bigger defensive presence on this team.
If the Celtics are going to have any success this season, Queta has to be better on defense. Too often last year, he was out of position, leading to an offensive rebound. His rim protection also needs to improve, after being hidden for a lot of 2023-24, a lot of Queta’s defensive warts were on full display last season. He needs to improve on that side of the floor to be a long-term piece in Boston.
I am really interested to see what Boucher’s role is going to be this season. He is a guy who can play the 4 and the 5 and could absolutely be a starter this season for the Celtics. Size is going to be a big problem for the Celtics and Boucher’s ability to play both big spots is something that I am sure Joe Mazzulla is going to rely on this season. He had a good season shooting the ball last year, 36% from three and 34% on above the break threes. Although that was his best season shooting threes, there could be some regression there. He once won G-League Defensive Player of the Year but he isn’t someone who is an elite defensive player, in large part because of how skinny he is, at 6’9” and 200 lbs.
Keeping Sam Hauser was the best move Brad Stevens made this summer — assuming he doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve in the remaining weeks before training camp — because Hauser’s skill set is something that every team needs. I wrote multiple Hauser trade articles this summer, in large part due to the Celtics need to get under the 2nd apron, yet Boston was able to pull it off without moving Hauser, which is a big deal.
A guy who can shoot off of movement and without the need to reload on his threes, is something that every team should value. A career 42% three-point shooter, Hauser had his worst season from three-point land last year… at 41.6%, a still really solid number. His defense also remains the most underrated quality of his game. While Hauser isn’t a shutdown defender, his size and length allow for him to hold up well enough on that side of the court. The Celtics are entering a new chapter of the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era, and Sam Hauser should be a part of it.
If there is one thing Anfernee Simons can do, it is score the basketball. Acquired for Jrue Holiday, Simons is coming off of a season in which he averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. The scoring is down from the previous two seasons where he averaged over 20 points per game in those seasons.
However, Simons isn’t the most efficient player in the NBA, with his field goal percentage and his true shooting percentage dipping in each of the last three seasons. His defense is lacking due to his lack of size, but there is an effort issue there as well. Simons is the kind of player we saw the NBA go away from this summer. Undersized guards who can score weren’t seen as high value assets. I think Simons will play a smaller role on this Celtics team than he has in Portland over the past few seasons but Boston will still need his ability to score the ball.
The reigning 6th Man of the Year had the best season of his career last year, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season. I expect Pritchard to take another leap this season, in what will likely be his first as a starter. He was very efficient last season, shooting 47% from the field, 41% from three with a true shooting percentage of 63%. There is a world where Payton is Boston’s second option this season, behind Jaylen Brown. He is going to have the ball in his hands a lot and will need to be ready to take advantage of the big opportunity that he is being presented with.
Derrick White is an elite player, we all know this. His defense and ability to shoot the three-ball has taken off in ways I don’t think the Celtics even expected when they traded for him at the 2022 deadline. There are some weaknesses. He needs to get better at entry passes — too often when White is throwing an entry pass the ball is turned over. If we see more of White with the ball in his hands this season, he is going to need to improve as an overall playmaker and I am excited to see what that looks like. Derrick White is awesome and is going to be a part of the Celtics success going into future years.
The 2025-26 Celtics are going to go as far as Jaylen Brown takes them. He signed the super-max contract, he won the Finals MVP and he has made All-NBA. Betting on Jaylen Brown has worked out for the Celtics throughout his time in Boston, including when they drafted him when there were boos at the TD Garden. I expect Brown to average a career high in points per game, which is 26.6 ppg in 2022-23. Brown is going to be asked to play a role that he has never played before, the number 1 option and I am excited to see how he responds to it.
Shoutout to Tomesz Kordylewski for the highlight packages; if you haven’t checked out his YouTube page, make sure you do that. It is an essential for every Celtics fan.
