Boston Celtics

"Wherever he’s playing in the NBA down the road, that team is going to be lucky to get him.”

By Conor Ryan

June 24, 2026 | 6:46 AM

4 minutes to read

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The Boston Celtics added an intriguing young player to their frontcourt on Tuesday night. ​

With the 27th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Celtics selected Chris Cenac Jr. out of the University of Houston. Cenac, 19, averaged 9.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and shot 48.5 percent in 37 games (36 starts) for the Cougars during his lone year of college.

The 6-foot-11 big man might be more of a project than an immediate help on Boston’s roster, but the talented forward/center does have plenty of upside.

Here are four things to know about the new Celtics big man:

He’s a potential stretch five in the NBA with a unique skillset

When Brad Stevens stressed last month that the Celtics needed to add players who have more “impact at the rim”, a raw ​​prospect like Cenac may not exactly fit the bill … at least for the 2026-27 season.

But there’s a lot to like about how Cenac could develop into a difference-maker down low as he continues to fill out his frame and expand his skillset in the coming years.

In total, Cenac’s 7.9 rebounds per game led the Cougars during the 2025-26 season, becoming the first Houston freshman to pace the team in rebounding since 2012. He also led Houston with six double-double performances during the regular season.​

He got better as the Cougars’ season went along, averaging 8.8 rebounds per contest over his final 12 games. In total, he made 72.3 percent of his shots around the rim, most of them dunks. But he also has a varied player profile, given his fluid athleticism and potential shooting capabilities.

From beyond the arc, Cenac averaged 2.4 3-point shots per game last year — sinking 33.3 percent of those attempts. He also took 61 mid-range jumpers with Houston, converting 41 percent of those looks — according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. 

There’s no guarantee that Cenac’s shooting habits will eventually translate to the pro game, and even with his 7-foot-5 wingspan, he wasn’t a pure athletic force down low or proven shot-blocker — swatting just 18 balls in 37 games.

But if Cenac can complement his rebounding abilities with a consistent shooting touch, he could develop into a stretch five that can help the Celtics’ frontcourt in a variety of ways — even if that pay-off might be a few years down the road.

He went to a high school with plenty of top sports alumni  

While Cenac closed out his high school career at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, the New Orleans native initially attended Isidore Newman School — a school that helped launch the careers of several star athletes.

Multiple football greats, in particular, saw their stocks soar at Isidore Newman, including Peyton, Eli, and Arch Manning, who closed out his senior year with the Greenies during the same time that Cenac was at the school.

Odell Beckham Jr. also attended Isidore Newman, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track.

Cenac also left his mark with the Greenies — leading the school to a third-straight state title in 2024 while earning All-State Second-Team honors. Cenac also took home the State Championship Most Outstanding Player in Louisiana after posting 19 points with eight assists, four rebounds, and three blocked shots in the title game.

He was the highest-ranked recruit for Kelvin Sampson at Houston

After a dominant senior season at Link Academy, Cenac established himself as a five-star recruit — earning invitations to the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic, and the Nike Hoop Summit.

​Despite also fielding offers from LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, Baylor, Kentucky, and Tennessee, Cenac ultimately committed to play for Kelvin Sampson at the University of Houston.

As the No. 6 prospect in the Class of 2025 as ranked by ESPN100, Rivals, and on3, Cenac was the top-ranked recruit to ever join Sampson’s program with the Cougars.

Even if Cenac’s stats may not necessarily leap off the page, he drew high praise from his collegiate coach in the lead-up to the NBA Draft.

“He’s never had one ounce of bad body language,” Sampson told NBA.com. “He’s never, ever been late. He’s always one of the first ones there, last ones to leave. He’s like a huge sponge. Wherever he’s playing in the NBA down the road, that team is going to be lucky to get him.”

Brad Stevens praised Cenac’s upside

Even if Cenac might be more of a long-term investment for Boston as he sharpens his game, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens doled out plenty of praise for the latest addition to the roster on Tuesday night.

“He’s just a good young player,” Stevens said of Cenac. “Energetic, plays hard, excellent athlete, long. Fits a position of need, some things that we were a little short on this year from an athletic perspective, I think with his size and his length. And when you play in the program he’s played for, he’s been taught well and been held to a high standard. I like that, and he will undoubtedly come here and be eager to jump into it.​

“He’s a good worker, he’s a good person, and he’s got a lot to learn, but we’re excited about starting that process with.”

Boston could use frontcourt reinforcements, especially after Boston’s big men like Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Nikola Vucevic all labored in the Celtics’ first-round series loss to the Sixers.

​Still, Stevens preached patience when it comes to Cenac and his odds of carving out a regular role in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation in 2026-27.

“I hope we’re good enough that it’s hard for any 18-year-old or 19-year-old to come in here and be really good out of the gate,” Stevens said. “I think that usually is more about their own personal development and growth and learning how hard it is and learning how to be a part of a team and learning how we work and how we go about it every day.

“And then if they can add value, that’s great, but there won’t be any expectation of that from my standpoint. There certainly probably is a lot of excitement and expectation from his.”