Boston Celtics: NBA comparisons for each C’s rookie

NBA comparison for Aaron Nesmith: Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings

In the early stages of the collegiate season, if you were to tell someone that the Boston Celtics were going to land Vanderbilt star Aaron Nesmith with the 14th overall pick, they would have called you crazy — after all, through the first two months of action in 2019-20 the wing was posting otherworldly averages of  23 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 52.2 percent from three-point range.

That said, in early January, Nesmith went down for the year with a right foot injury that required surgery and, in turn, hurt his draft stock a bit.

So, with this, here we are.

With his all-around offensive arsenal and build, it’s hard not to make comparisons between the 21-year-old and Sacramento Kings scoring machine, Buddy Hield.

Both players possess smooth jumpers (within the mid-range and from deep) who can work both off the catch as well as with creating for themselves.

During his final season at the collegiate level (played for Oklahoma State), Hield produced at a similar rate as Nesmith during his last season. Through 37 games, Hield posted 25 points and
5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent shooting from the floor and 46 percent shooting from deep.

Each perceived as the best shooters in their respective drafts, the similarities are simply uncanny between the two wings.

With a bit of an advantage on the defensive side over Hield, Nesmith could wind up proving to be even better of a player than the Kings’ star at the next level.

That said, even if he just became a replica of Hield, with the 14th overall pick it would appear the Boston Celtics got an absolute steal.