The Celtics used their second pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on an explosive, albeit limited, wing prospect.
Boston drafted 6-foot-8 St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell with the 40th overall pick Wednesday night.
Mitchell, a well-traveled 22-year-old who played two seasons at Texas, one at Cincinnati and one with Rick Pitino’s Red Storm, is regarded as a high-end defender and explosive at-the-rim finisher. Scouting reports also praise his athleticism, motor, rebounding and passing.
Those traits made Mitchell a consensus top-five recruit out of Montverde (Fla.) Academy in 2022, and he first impressed the Celtics brass early in his freshman season, when vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren attended a Gonzaga-Texas game.
“Instantly, Dillon’s leaping ability almost quite literally jumped off the court,” Zarren said in a post-draft video conference. “He had a great game. He was really raw back then, but his athleticism stood out. It took him a few years to sort of grow from there. … He became one of the best perimeter defenders in college basketball. He’s long, he can move, and then the other thing we noticed this year that really grew was his passing skills on offense.
“He’s still a prospect, he’s got some work to do, and his athleticism and leaping abilities are really, really impressive, in addition to his defensive instincts.”
One thing Mitchell did not do well across his various college stops, however, was shoot. He went 11-for-57 from 3-point range in his collegiate career (19.3%), including a 1-for-15 showing during his senior campaign, and nearly all of his 2-point production came at or near the rim. He also shot an ugly 48.8% from the foul line in college, never topping 60% in any season.
The Celtics have been in the market for players who can provide more interior scoring — that was one of Brad Stevens’ stated priorities during his end-of-season news conference — and they love aggressive, ball-hawking, pain-to-play-against defenders. But Mitchell’s skill set seems, on the surface, like an awkward fit for head coach Joe Mazzulla’s 3-point-heavy system.
Most of Boston’s depth wings this season were at least capable perimeter shooters, with Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez all making more than 36% of their threes. The Celtics could be hoping to coax similar improvement out of Mitchell to what they’ve seen from Walsh, another defense-first player whose 3-point shooting percentage jumped by more than 10 points (to 38.4%) in his third year in the NBA.
“He can be successful even when he’s not shooting the ball, but he’ll get better at his shot. We don’t have any doubt about that,” Zarren said. “If you watch enough, you’ll see he’s got the ability to get better there. So, like any young player, there’s things to work on; that’s one for him. But we’re really excited about Dillon.”
Mitchell averaged 28.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks across 37 games this season, starting 25 of them. His St. John’s team won the Big East tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Duke. Mitchell’s lone made 3-pointer of the season came in that NCAA tournament defeat.
ESPN ranked Mitchell as the 40th-best prospect in this class, matching his ultimate draft slot. He was 39th on The Ringer’s big board and 52nd on The Athletic’s.
“He’s got a hell of a future ahead of him,” said Zarren, adding that Boston actually considered trading up for the Tampa, Fla., native early in the second round.
With their first pick Tuesday night (No. 28 overall), the Celtics selected Chris Cenac Jr., a smooth-moving 6-foot-11 big man out of Houston whom most draft analysts viewed as a developmental prospect. Mitchell, who will turn 23 before his rookie season begins, is more than three years older than the 19-year-old Cenac — and older than both Gonzalez and Walsh, too.