Chris Cenac Jr. didn’t hear his name called where most people expected in the NBA Draft, but his college coach thinks the Celtics may have landed him exactly where he needed to be.
Cenac, the No. 1 center in the 2025 recruiting class and a consensus five-star prospect at Houston, went 27th overall. That raised some eyebrows, especially after he spent the season anchoring one of the nation’s top defensive teams. Houston leaned on his 7-foot-5 wingspan, and he finished as the Cougars’ leading rebounder at 7.9 per game while helping them reach the Sweet Sixteen.
He later declared for the draft, and since then he’s made it clear he plans to use the slide as fuel, saying teams will “ regret ” not giving him a look.
Kelvin Sampson, though, isn’t approaching it that way.
The Houston coach, entering his 13th season, said Boston was a strong landing spot for Cenac and pointed to the Celtics’ belief in him as the important part.
"I said, ‘Chris, I’m glad those teams didn’t take you,'" Sampson told The Boston Globe. "Then when Boston took him, I said, 'They believe in you, Chris.
You went to the right team.' Brad Stevens is one of the best basketball people in the world, and I’ve been so impressed with [coach] Joe Mazzulla."
Sampson knows the NBA well enough to recognize the pattern. He has served as an assistant with the Bucks and Rockets and also spent time in an advisory role with the Spurs. From that perspective, he sees the kind of patience and timing that can make a late pick matter.
That’s part of why he believes the Celtics were able to get Cenac when they did.
Cenac has already given Boston a glimpse of what he can bring. In one of his Summer League games, he posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the Celtics’ opener against the Raptors. For a 19-year-old still working through his development, it was a productive run.
Sampson also believes the Celtics’ environment can help turn Cenac into something bigger.
"I don’t know that [Payton] Pritchard would be a great player everywhere, but he made it in Boston, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that it was in Boston," Sampson said. "Jayson Tatum is going to be good everywhere, but some of those other guys might not be. I think Chris can develop there."
At Houston, Cenac played 37 games and started 36, averaging 24.8 minutes while putting up 9.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. He shot 48.5% from the field, 33.3% from three and 62.1% from the line.
In Other News...
Derrick White Still Has One Big Thing To Fix For Boston
Derrick White has become one of the most useful players on Bostons roster, the kind of steady two-way guard every contender needs. Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that the Celtics internally believed White had a better season than Jaylen Brown in 2025-26, and that around the league, plenty of evaluators now view White as a better value player. His defensive impact and connective, do-it-all style have made him a true glue guy for a team that leans heavily on versatility and depth.
Still, there is a catch for Boston if it wants White to keep carrying that kind of weight. His offensive efficiency slid, with his shooting percentages dipping in both the regular season and the playoffs, and that is the one area that could limit how far his overall value can go. For the Celtics to get back into the title mix, White will need to sharpen that part of his game and bring the shot back to the level that makes everything else work. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Nearly Took A Very Different Path In The Jays Era
Before the Celtics settled into the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown core they know now, they were already hunting for a different kind of swing. In 2017, Boston was deep in trade talks with Indiana for Paul George, who was on an expiring contract and wanted out, a move that would have given the Celtics another star to build around as they tried to stay in the top tier of the East.
Instead, George ended up going to Oklahoma City, and Bostons plans moved in another direction. The result was a roster path built around Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, but the near miss still lingers as one of those what-if moments that could have changed how the entire Jays era unfolded. [Read more 🡒]