The NBA Draft is, to put it nicely, a bit of a crapshoot. There is no guarantee even the top players selected will pan out to anything at the pro level.

It gets even murkier when you get outside the lottery, and it essentially becomes teams taking flyers on players by the second round. Even if teams hit on second-round selections, those players don't usually become franchise-altering superstars, or even important role players for very long. 

There are exceptions, of course. Nikola Jokic was the 41st overall pick in 2014 and is one of the best players on the planet. Draymond Green (35th in 2012) and Khris Middleton (39th in 2012) both played key roles on championship teams. Isaiah Thomas wasn't drafted by the Celtics, but he carved out a nice career after he was the final pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

And another lifetime ago, the Celtics drafted a spunky kid out of BYU named Danny Ainge in the second round. He turned out to be a pretty good player and executive for Boston.

But for the most part, second-round picks are back-end players to fill out the roster with a very small price tag attached. And before they become players on a team, the picks are nice and necessary filler to complete trades. Given the landscape in the new CBA, they are important assets for teams, which is why Brad Stevens has been stockpiling them over the last few years.

Stevens snagged three additional second-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft when he traded the No. 32 pick to the Orlando Magic, landing the 46th pick (used to draft Kentucky big man Amari Williams) and the 57th (VCU guard Max Shulga) plus second-rounders in 2026 and 2027. He has a pretty good collection of second-round picks over the next seven years. 

Stevens has only been playing the executive game since June of 2021, so the jury is still out on most of his second-round picks. Here's a look back at the last 25 years of second-round picks by the Celtics, with some pretty solid hits in the mix and a lot of players we never saw don a Boston uniform.

The big man from Lithuania never played for the Celtics, and was traded to the Sacramento Kings for a pair of second-round picks you'll meet later on this list. Songalia averaged 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds over his eight NBA seasons or the Kings, Bulls, Wizards, Hornets, and 76ers. 

Hunter was taken with one of the picks acquired in the Songalia swap. He played in 36 games for Boston as a rookie, including 12 starts. His best game in Green was an 11-point, 16-rebound showing in a win over Toronto. But he only spent one season with Boston because the Charlotte Bobcats (remember them?) took him in the expansion draft in 2004, only to then trade him to the Orlando Magic. He played 31 games for the Magic in 2004-05, but that was the end of his NBA career. 

Reed was another explosive rebounder taken in the second round, but he played sparingly for a season-and-a-half before he was shipped to Minnesota in the 2006 trade that brought Michael Olowokandi and Wally Szczerbiak to Boston. He stuck with the Wolves until his NBA career ended in 2007.

Gomes should have been a late-first-, early-second-round pick after a stellar career in Providence, but fell to Boston at 50th overall. He was a solid pro from the jump and ended up starting 33 games for the Celtics as a rookie. He started 60 of the 73 games he played in during the 2006-07 season, when Gomes averaged 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds. 

But the 2006-07 season was a disaster for the Celtics, and that summer Gomes was part of the trade package in the franchise-altering Kevin Garnett trade. He played three seasons for Minnesota, two for the L.A. Clippers, and played in five games for Oklahoma City in 2013-14 before heading overseas for a few years. He started 371 of the 487 games he played over his eight-year NBA career.

The Waterbury, Connecticut native started coaching in 2016, and is now an assistant in Providence. 

Despite playing just two seasons with the Celtics, Gomes is one of the better second-round picks by the team over the last 25 years. (Disclaimer: This is coming from a guy who still has a Ryan Gomes Celtics bobble head on his desk at work.)

Greene was the second pick Boston got from the Songalia trade, and he played in 80 games for the Celtics as a rookie. He also got into some trouble off the court in March that earned him a suspension, and was waived by the team a few months later. Greene played just 50 more games in the NBA for the Pacers, Kings, and Nets. 

The Celtics got Powe in a draft-night trade with the Nuggets, and though he played just three seasons in Boston, he's got a special place in franchise history.

Powe's biggest game in Green was Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals when he dropped 21 points in only 15 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. He flummoxed the Lakers so much it had a flustered Phil Jackson calling him Leon "Pow" after the game.

He also played for Cleveland and Memphis during his career. Powe rejoined the Celtics in 2014 as a community ambassador, a role he still holds today.

Davis was technically drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics 35th overall and then traded to Boston in the Ray Allen deal. In terms of second-round picks making an impact with the Celtics over the last quarter of a century, he's at the top of the list.

"Big Baby" became an instant fan favorite with his jovial, kid-like persona. He played an important reserve role off the Celtics bench in the team's run to the 2008 NBA Championship, and played an even bigger role the following season when Kevin Garnett was lost to an injury. Davis' biggest play in Green came in the second round of the 2009 playoffs, when he drained a buzzer-beater against the Orlando Magic to lift Boston to a Game 4 victory. He averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds that postseason, but the C's fell to the Magic in seven games without Garnett.

Davis was back in his reserve role the following season, when he formed the famous "Shrek and Donkey" duo and drooled all over the court in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Lakers. Davis played four seasons with Boston before he was traded to the Magic for Von Wafer. He averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds over his eight-year NBA career. 

Pruitt was taken three picks ahead of Davis, but averaged just 7.4 minutes in his 62 games for the Celtics over two seasons. That was it for his NBA career.

Erden didn't play for Boston until the 2010-11 season, and was traded to the Cavaliers that February for a second-round pick. He played in 69 games over his two-year NBA career for Boston and Cleveland.  

Hudson was taken 58th overall but played just 16 games for the Celtics before he was claimed off waivers by the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 4.7 points over 57 games over his four-year NBA career for Boston, Memphis, Washington, Cleveland, and the L.A. Clippers.

He was a star for the Irish, but played in only 29 games for the Celtics before he was sent to Cleveland along with Erden. Harangody played in just 70 games over his two seasons in the NBA. 

Moore played just 38 games for the Celtics before he was part of a three-team trade that brought Courtney Lee to Boston. But he carved out a solid 10-year NBA career, including a four-year stretch with the Pelicans where he averaged 10.7 points per game.

Joseph was taken 51st overall, and had two very brief stints with Boston. He played just six games for the C's before he was waived in January, and then signed with the Nets that April. He played in four game for Brooklyn, and was then traded back to Boston that summer in the giant return for Garnett and Paul Pierce. (You know, the one that brought in the picks used on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.) Joseph was waived by Boston a few days later, and that was it for his NBA career. 

There was a ton of hype around Mickey, whom the Celtics drafted 33rd overall. But he averaged just 4.8 minutes in his 41 games over two seasons before he was waived by Boston. Mickey played 23 games for Miami in 2017-18, which was his final season in the NBA.

Thornton played for the C's in the Summer League but then played overseas, outside of a brief appearance for the Maine Red Claws.

There was a lot of hype around Nader, and he was a D-League All-Star and Rookie of the Year after being taken by Boston with the 58th pick. He signed a four-year contract in 2017, but bounced from the Celtics to the Red Claws that season and averaged just 10.9 minutes over 48 games for Boston. He was traded to OKC in 2018 and played two seasons for the Thunder and two seasons for the Phoenix Suns.

Jackson played just five games for the Celtics, while Bentil was waived before the end of the preseason.

Ojeleye had ridiculously massive arms and was a pretty solid role player over his four seasons and 254 games for Boston. He played for the Bucks and Clippers during the 2021-22 season, which was his last in the NBA.

Allen averaged just 5.9 minutes over his 18 games for the Celtics before he was waived, and closed his NBA career with 29 appearances for the Knicks over two seasons. 

Bird played 18 games for Boston in 2017-18, but was arrested on domestic abuse and kidnapping charges in September of 2018. He was traded to Atlanta for a conditional second-round pick in February of 2019, and waived by the Hawks the next day. 

Edwards had some truly massive quads, but didn't do much over his two seasons with the Celtics. Waters played in 37 games for Boston over his two seasons, including four starts, but was not retained after the 2020-21 season. 

We heard a lot about Madar after the Celtics took him 47th overall in 2020. He was a draft-and-stash guy and has remained overseas other than a Summer League appearance in 2021.

Another draft-and-stash player for Boston. Begarin is currently with AS Monaco of the LNB Elite.

Davison has played in 36 games for Boston over the last three seasons, but has really thrived with the Maine Celtics. He averaged 25.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists last year to earn G League MVP honors, and had his contract converted to a standard NBA two-year deal in April. He will likely play a reserve role for Boston in 2025-26.

Walsh has seen limited action in 61 games over his two seasons in the Celtics organization. He was the youngest player on the team in each of the last two seasons, and will have a chance to carve out a role on the 2025-26 Celtics.

Watson never played for the Celtics before he was waived in March. He was claimed by the Knicks a few days later and played nine games for New York.