The 2026 NBA Draft is just under two weeks away. It will (most likely, barring any surprise trades) be the first opportunity for the Boston Celtics to improve their roster in what’s shaping up to be a crucial summer for the franchise.
Boston holds picks 27 and 40 -- two opportunities to add young and promising prospects to their roster. With this year’s draft class being so talented and deep, those picks potentially hold more weight than usual, and they could see a quality player slide to them for one reason or another.
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie is a prime example. Experts project the 19-year-old to be picked anywhere from just outside of the lottery all the way to the end of the first round.
The New England product turned heads in his lone collegiate season. Okorie led the ACC in scoring when averaged 23.2 points per game on 46.5% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc. The six-foot-one-inch guard did more than just score in his 31 appearances for Stanford, tallying 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 combined stocks (steals and blocks) per outing.
Okorie’s inspired play earned him a selection to the First Team All-ACC.
What does Ebuka Okorie bring to the Celtics?
Okorie enters the draft with the skills necessary to become an on-ball creator and facilitator in the NBA.
He was asked to do a lot for a mediocre Stanford team as a freshman. Okorie averaged more than 12 points more than his next highest-scoring teammate as he helped the Cardinal to a 9-9 record in conference play. The speedy guard’s 58.9% true-shooting clip -- an efficient mark as his squad’s offensive focal point -- stands out above all.
His points came from all over. Okorie can get to the rim, pull up from the mid-range, and knock down threes.
Celtics president Brad Stevens frequently mentioned rim pressure during his end of season press conference last month. Well, Okorie averaged 13.1 attempts (over half of his shot attempts) in the restricted area per 100 possessions, which puts him in the 99th percentile, per Draftballr.
Once he gets downhill, Okorie has a wide range of moves in his bag to help him finish below the rim in traffic.
Potential Top 10 pick Ebuka Okorie is a nasty offensive player.
— ALBERT GHIM (@albertoeghim) June 8, 2026
Okorie's ability to score from all three levels and finish with either hand makes him a truly tough cover. The aspect of his game that's not getting talked about enough is his ability to really pass the ball.… pic.twitter.com/dlhzCQiVM0
His athleticism enables him to absorb contact, too, which netted him over eight free-throw attempts per game.
Okorie had no problem creating his own offense, either. Significantly fewer of his points came off of assists than some of the other top guard prospects in the 2026 class. He sank his off-dribble threes at a 34% rate -- a valuable skill for smaller guards at the pro level.
The New Hampshire native displayed a strong sense for the game when making decisions out of both isolation and pick-and-roll situations. His ability to sling passes to open shooters on the weak side of the court when defenses collapse on him impressed as well. He only averaged 1.9 turnovers per game despite seeing the complete attention from the opposition on a nightly basis.
Simply put, he’s not one to try and force his own offense when opportunities aren’t there.
Okorie’s consensus biggest weakness is his lack of size. At just 185 pounds, there’s reason to believe that opposing teams will target him whenever he’s on an NBA court. Fortunately for him, there are weight rooms in every professional sports facility in the world. Wherever he ends up, he’ll have the tools to work on his body and fill out his frame.
With that being said, Okorie was a disruptive defensive playmaker in college and has the tools to carry that over to the league once he fills out a bit more. His six-foot-eight-inch wingspan definitely helps in that area.
Okorie is not a finished product. He may have to “red shirt” a lot of his rookie season, but it’s not hard to see a pathway for him to help the Celtics, or any other team, win games somewhere down the line. His skillset just gives him greater potential than a lot of other late-first-round guys. Boston would be super fortunate to have a prospect like him fall into their lap at number 27.
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