Second-round pick Dillon Mitchell has been on the Celtics’ radar for years

Sport admin June 25, 2026 0 Comments

Second-round pick Dillon Mitchell has been on the Celtics’ radar for years

In November 2022, Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren went on a scouting trip to Texas to watch the Longhorns face Gonzaga. It did not take long for a freshman to catch his eye. In just his third career game, Texas forward Dillon Mitchell registered eight points and nine rebounds while impressing Zarren with his leaping ability.

“He was really raw back then, but his athleticism stood out,” Zarren said. “It took him a few years to sort of grow from there.”

Mitchell spent another year at Texas, transferred to Cincinnati for his junior year, and recently completed his senior season at St. John’s. On Wednesday night, nearly four years after Zarren first watched Mitchell, the Celtics selected the athletic wing with the 40th pick of the NBA draft.

Zarren said that Mitchell “found more purpose” playing for the Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino this past season and emerged as one of the best perimeter defenders in the nation.

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“He’s long, he can move, and then the other thing we noticed this year that really grew was his passing skills on offense,” Zarren said. “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. So he’s got a hell of a future ahead of him.”

Related: Four things to know about Celtics first-round pick Chris Cenac Jr.

Mitchell averaged 8.3 points and 7 rebounds for St. John’s, where he was named to the Big East’s All-Defensive team. He was just 1 for 15 from the 3-point line last season and is not a long-range shooting threat, but Zarren said the Celtics believe he will develop into a good shooter.

The Celtics selected Houston big man Chris Cenac Jr. with the 27th pick on Tuesday night. Cenac arrived in Boston on Wednesday and is eager to get started.

“Their development is great,” Cenac said of the Celtics. “I’m big on development. I have a great work ethic. I’m always attempting to try to get better and trying to figure out what to do to get better. I’m 100 percent looking forward to getting to Boston and putting the work in every single day.”