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Boston Celtics 2016 Draft Results

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BOSTON – The Boston Celtics selected Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele, Ante Zizic, Demetrius Jackson, Ben Bentil and Abdel Nader in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Celtics were also involved in a trade in which they selected Deyonta Davis and Rade Zagorac for the Memphis Grizzlies, trading those players’ rights for a future Los Angeles Clippers protected first round draft pick.

Brown, a 6’7” forward from the University of California, was selected with the third overall pick in the first round. He was selected to the five-player USBWA Freshman All-America team, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the lone freshman this season to make the All-Pac 12 First Team. An early entry candidate for the 2016 NBA Draft, he left University of California with the third highest scoring mark for a freshman with 498 points. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.6 minutes per game. The native of Marietta, Georgia was named the 2015 Gatorade Georgia Boys’ Player of the Year, Georgia’s Mr. Basketball and was also a participant in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit, Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Yabusele, a 6’7” forward, was selected with the 16th overall pick in the first round. He appeared in 34 games for Rouen Metropole Basket in the LNB Pro A in France where he averaged 11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. Yabusele recorded 10 or more rebounds in 11 games and recorded eight double-doubles during the 2015-16 season. He played for France during the 2015 U20 European Championships and averaged 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds over that span.

Zizic, a 6’11” center, was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the first round. He was named the 2016 Adriatic League Top Prospect and helped Croatia to medals at the 2015 U19 Worlds (13.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg) and 2014 U18 Euros (8.2 ppg and 7.0 rpg). In 26 games in Adriatic League play, Zizic posted averages of 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 24.8 minutes while shooting 60.7 percent from the field.

Jackson, a 6’1” guard from University of Notre Dame, was selected with the 45th overall pick in the second round. As a junior, he was named to the 2016 NCAA East Region All-Tournament Team and to the Second Team All-ACC. Jackson, a two-time Notre Dame Outstanding Playmaker Award winner, tallied 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field in 36.1 minutes per game during the 2015-16 season. For his career, he shot 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Bentil, a 6’9” forward from Providence College, was selected with the 51st overall pick in the second round. An Honorable Mention AP All-America, he led the Big East in scoring with 21.1 points per game, finished fourth in the league in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and shot 46.2 percent from the field during the 2015-16 season. Bentil was also named Big East Most Improved Player and First-Team All-Big East in 2016.

Nader, a 6’6” forward from Iowa State, was selected with the 58th overall pick in the second round. He played and started all 35 games during the 2015-16 season, and increased his scoring from 5.8 points as a junior to 12.9 points as a senior. Nader earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades in 2016, shot a career-best 48.7 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from 3-point range as a senior and topped 1,000 collegiate career points in ISU's win against Kansas.