4 things to know about the Celtics’ 1st round pick

While many wondered if the Celtics would make a deal on draft day, Boston president Brad Stevens and the front office opted to make their first-round selection available to them. With the No. 30 overall pick, the C’s landed Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman to close out the first round of the draft.

This is the first time in the Stevens era that the front office has made a first-round pick. Instead, they chose to ship this capital project elsewhere in an effort to make win-win moves now. After winning their record 18th championship last week, the Celtics officially begin the 2024-25 season as they aim for back-to-back titles.

After choosing Scheierman, the Celtics still have the 54th pick in the second round, which begins Thursday at 4 p.m. This is the first time the league has split the first and second rounds over multiple days. So, unless deals move forward, it should still be a relatively quiet night for the Cs going forward.

Here are four things to know about the new Celtic Scheierman as he embarks on his NBA career:

1. Bring a shot

Scheierman should slide right into this Celtics roster that is as 3-point friendly as it gets in the league. Scheierman shot a career-high 39.0% on 3-pointers throughout his long college career, so that’s certainly a positive. He shot a blistering 46.9 percent from 3 during his junior season, when he was named the Summit League Player of the Year at South Dakota State. In his final season at Creighton in 2023-24, Scheierman made 38.1 percent of his 8.3 3-point attempts per game. More than half of his shot attempts came from behind the arc, which should fit right into this Celtics roster.

2. Not just a shooter

While the shooting numbers are showing up, Scheierman’s overall game should also help him throughout what the C’s hope will be a long professional career. He has good size at 6-foot-7. He’ll be tough to crack the Celtics’ rotation, something Stevens also pointed out in his pre-draft press conference Tuesday. But the C’s are also looking beyond Scheierman’s rookie season, as they hope he can become a rotation player down the line.

Scheierman averaged 9.0 rebounds per game last season for Creighton, which will certainly be looked upon favorably by the coaching staff for doing the dirty work. Scheierman also displayed playmaking ability during his college years, averaging 3.9 assists per game. Since the Celtics won’t need Scheierman to be one of the top options on this roster, his ability to do the little things will help him earn minutes in the league.

3. Older, experienced player

While the Celtics locker room has some jokes for Scheierman, he already comes with plenty of college experience. Scheierman, 23, spent five seasons in college taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted due to the pandemic. Scheierman spent his first three college seasons at South Dakota State before transferring to Creighton for two seasons.

It’s unclear how that experience will translate to the league, but Scheierman should be closer to pro readiness than some developmental prospects. Another issue is that the C’s will have him for the next four seasons, which they hope will be productive years in his career.

4. Dual-sport athlete

While Scheierman ended up playing basketball, he was also a successful football player during his high school years. He led his team to a Nebraska state championship in 2018. As a senior, he threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 59 passing touchdowns. He is also a left-hander. So there is cross training after excelling in a different sport.