2 draft-day steals the Boston Celtics could land with 53rd overall pick

Potential steal Boston Celtics could draft No. 2) Jabari Walker

Jabari Walker is the prototypical hit-or-miss NBA prospect and, based on his NBA Draft projections ranging from being taken early in the second to going completely undrafted, it appears as though many are expected the latter.

For a team like the Boston Celtics at the 53rd overall pick, the Colorado product may be the exact type of risk they should be willing to take.

With his impressive combination of ball-handling and shot creation skills, coupled with his 6-8 frame, Walker is coming into the league as a legitimate combo forward prototype which could actually help the C’s considering they need depth behind both the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the wing as well as behind Al Horford and Grant Williams at the four.

Showing an ability to play both ends of the floor with his solid defensive awareness & rebounding skills (boasted an impressive 29.3 defensive rebounding percentage during his sophomore campaign) and with his ability to score down low and when stretched out at around the 3-point arc, there’s a lot to like about the youngster’s game.

During his final year with the Buffaloes, Walker managed to put up solid averages of 14.6 points, 9.4 boards, and just shy of a block per night on 46 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 percent shooting from deep while also receiving First-Team All-Pac-12 honors along the way.

Due to his impressive lateral quickness and sound timing, we at the Houdini believe the forward has the potential to be a solid defensive weapon, particularly in the C’s switch-everything scheme, while his career 78-percent free-throw shooting percentage coupled with his 52 percent shooting clip from deep and finish within the 93rd percentile on spot-up jumpers during his freshman season seems to show that he has the making of being a serviceable 3-point threat at the next level.

Still only 19 years old, there’s plenty of time for Jabari Walker to hone his craft and develop as a player, and, with this along with his sheer raw talent, the Boston Celtics should strongly consider scooping him up should he be available at pick No. 53.