The Boston Celtics have a strong history in the NBA Draft. They selected Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Robert Williams in recent years to build the foundation of their latest run. The Celtics are still looking for their 18th championship, but they have made the conference finals five times in the last seven years.
Boston is never afraid to shake up their roster and make a bold move. Fans saw it as they traded Smart for Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks. The Celtics want to get their 18th ring, and they had to make a change to get over the mountain.
Finding undrafted talent is never easy, but Boston saw in their recent playoff wars with the Miami Heat just how important it can be. Who are the top players the Celtics have found?
Best undrafted talents to play for the Boston Celtics
7. Daniel Theis
Theis began playing professional basketball at 18 years old in Germany, but he was not selected in the 2013 NBA Draft. The 6’8 big man continued honing his craft in his home country until the Celtics signed him in 2017. He spent his first three and half seasons in Boston where the team made two conference final appearances. Theis was their starting center in 2020 as the Celtics lost to the Heat in six games.
He was traded to the Bulls at the 2021 deadline before being reacquired by the Celtics one year later. Boston made it to the NBA Finals in 2022, but Theis played an inconsistent role in the playoffs, including being a DNP-CD in seven of the last nine games.
The Celtics packaged him with four players and one first-round pick to acquire Malcolm Brogdon during the 2022 offseason. Injuries limited Daniel Theis to just seven games with the Pacers last season, but the 31-year-old accomplished plenty with the Boston Celtics. The 6’8 big man was never a star. Boston did not need him to be, but he quickly became a favorite of the organization.
6. Adrian Griffin
Fans may not remember Griffin playing for the Celtics, but they gave the current Milwaukee Bucks head coach his first shot. The 6’5 wing went undrafted in 1996 and mostly played in now-defunct minor leagues in the United States for three years before signing in Boston. Griffin averaged 6.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 steals in 26.8 minutes per game as a rookie to spark a nine-year career in the league.
He only lasted two seasons with the Celtics, but he played a key role in two different Mavericks runs to the conference finals, including being a bench option in 2006 when Dallas lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
After retiring in 2008, Griffin was an NBA assistant coach for 15 years before being hired as head coach of the Bucks in the 2023 offseason. He joins a team with immediate championship aspirations, and Griffin will quickly get to prove if he can win as a head coach.
Adrian Griffin has been part of the NBA since 1999, and his son now plays for the Atlanta Hawks. He never averaged more than 7.2 points per game for a season in his career, but the 6’5 wing continues to make an impact in the league more than two decades later.
5. Aron Baynes
Baynes is another undrafted big man that carved out a long career in the NBA. The New Zealand native was not selected in 2009 and spent four years playing in Europe before signing with the Spurs in 2013 where he was a role player on their 2014 championship team. Baynes played three seasons in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich and two years in Detroit before joining the Celtics in the 2017 offseason.
Baynes was Boston’s primary starting center in 2018 as they reached the conference finals. The Celtics were up 2-0 and 3-2 on the Miami Heat before losing the final two games to LeBron James and company. Kyrie Irving was Boston’s leading scorer and the young duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown nearly helped the Celtics pull the upset.
Aron Baynes spent two seasons with the Celtics before being traded to the Suns in 2019. He played two more years in the NBA before suffering a horrific accident at the 2021 Olympics that left him unable to walk for weeks. Thankfully, he is back playing basketball in Australia and an NBA return cannot be ruled out for the 36-year-old big man.
Aron Baynes had a strong career, but he is not the best-undrafted journeyman role player to play for the Boston Celtics.
4. David Wesley
Wesley went undrafted in 1992 mostly based on concerns of him being a six-foot shooting guard. After playing four years of college, he spent one season starring for the Wichita Falls Texans in the Continental Basketball Association before being signed by the New Jersey Nets.
Wesley played just 9.0 minutes per game as a rookie, but it was enough for the Celtics to sign him the following offseason where his career took off.
He was immediately a key role player and continued to improve over his three years in Boston. Wesley averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 40.4 minutes per game during his final season with the Celtics. Boston won just 15 games, but Wesley earned a multi-year contract from the Hornets in the 1997 offseason.
The six-foot guard spent the next nine seasons as a starter for the Hornets and Rockets. He was a key scorer and shot-maker before 3-point shooting took over the league. Without his stop in Boston, David Wesley might not have played 14 years in the NBA or scored 11,842 points in his career.
The Boston Celtics helped him launch his career, but he was not the first undrafted great to play in Beantown.
3. Arnie Risen
The Celtics employed two undrafted players that turned into Hall of Famers throughout their storied history. Risen was a 6’9 big man out of Ohio State that went undrafted in 1948 back when it was still the BAA and there were only 12 teams. The draft consisted of 113 picks, but none of them were Risen.
All he went on to do was play a decade in the NBA where he was a four-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion. Risen helped the Celtics win their first NBA championship in 1957, but he was no longer a star at that point. The 6’9 big man played off the bench behind Bill Russell.
Arnie Risen played seven seasons for the Rochester Royals before finishing his career in Boston. In his three years with the Celtics, Risen twice played in the NBA Finals, and he helped start the dynasty. Boston won 11 championships in 13 years from 1957 to 1969. The undrafted four-time All-Star was a veteran early in that run that assisted the Celtics in winning their first title.
Risen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, and he led the BAA in field goal percentage in 1949.
2. Carl Braun
Braun is a second undrafted Hall of Famer for the Celtics. The 6’5 guard went unselected out of Colgate in the 1947 BAA Draft, despite 78 players being taken. He was drafted by the New York Yankees and was playing minor league baseball as he averaged 14 points per game for the Knicks and was named second-team All-NBA.
He decided to focus solely on basketball before his third season, but he had to serve two years in the military following that campaign. It did little to stop Braun. He was one of the league’s best point guards in the 1950s, including making five All-Star appearances and two All-NBA teams.
Braun started to slow down in 1960, and he was waived by the Knicks after the 1961 season. It was the Boston Celtics that gave the 34-year-old a final shot. They were three-time defending champions at that point, and the 6’4 guard desperately wanted a ring.
Carl Braun barely played, but the Celtics won the title in 1962. He retired after the victory and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019, which was sadly nine years after his death. Braun had a short stint in Beantown, but he was a part of their eight straight titles from 1959 to 1966.
1. Bruce Bowen
Bowen is arguably the best modern undrafted player in NBA history. After four years at Cal State Fullerton, the 6’7 wing was not selected in the 1993 draft. He spent time playing in France before finally getting a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat in March of 1997. Bowen played just one minute in his first NBA game, and it was the only action he saw that season.
He finally broke through that summer as he signed with the Boston Celtics. Bowen spent the next two seasons in Beantown, but his opportunities and production were limited, despite the team’s struggles. The 6’7 wing signed with the Philadelphia 76es in 1999, but it was not until he arrived in Miami that his career took off.
Bowen won three championships with the San Antonio Spurs and was named to the All-Defensive teams eight times, including five straight first-team nods. He is regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, despite not receiving over 22 minutes per game until after his 29th birthday.
Bruce Bowen got his first real NBA shot with the Boston Celtics, and they have found multiple undrafted gems over the years. Who will be the next name on this list? Stay tuned to find out.
17 Worst free agent signings in Boston Celtics history
Hardwood Houdini takes a look at the 17 worst signings in the history of the Boston Celtics throughout the franchise's storied history.