The Celtics selected VCU guard Max Shulga with the No. 57 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, putting the finishing touches on what’s been a busy few days. The C’s originally started the night with the No. 32 pick, but traded down, netting them three more second-round picks, including the 46th overall pick in Amari Williams
Shulga, 23, will have his opportunity to stick in the league as one of the last picks in the 2025 draft. He was measured at 6-foot-4 without shoes at the NBA Draft combine as he also has a 6-foot-6 wingspan. Celtics vice president Mike Zarren gave his scouting report on the newest Boston guard Thursday after the conclusion of the draft
“Max is a tough guy who can handle and shoot and elite toughness,” Zarren said. “He’s been all over the world. He moved to Spain when he was 13, I think, to play basketball. ... But he’s just a winner. Was the A-10 player of the year. I think they won 18 of their last 20 games or something like that, was the A-10 player of the year.
Zarren pointed out that Shulga already knows a member of the Celtics roster in Neemias Queta. They were teammates at Utah State during the 2020-21 season. Back then, that was Queta’s final year in college while it was Shulga’s first. Zarren said they were able to reconnect when Shulga was in Boston for a predraft workout. Now, they’re teammates again.
Shulga averaged 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 35 games for VCU last season. He helped lead the Rams to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed, though they lost to BYU in the first round. Notably, he shot 39.2% on 3-pointers during his five-year college career as the Celtics hope that shooting translates to the next level.
Zarren said it’s likely that both Shulga and Williams end up on two-way contracts with the Celtics, but that’s still not official at this point. They’ll both likely be on the Summer League roster in Las Vegas, which takes place from July 10-20. First-round pick Hugo Gonzalez is set to be in Boston next week coming from Spain, Zarren said, though it’s unclear yet if the wing will play in Summer League.
Regardless, the Celtics are undergoing an offseason of change. They added three new faces through the draft, though that comes after trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis earlier in the week. More moves are likely on the horizon as the front office continues to tweak the roster for the salary cap. But for the three new rookies, they’ll have an opportunity to stick in the pros with the winningest franchise in NBA history.
“We’ve been watching both of these guys for a long time,” Zarren said. “They had long college careers and have been very, very successful players everywhere they’ve been. So we’ll see how they do at the next level, but they’re just really, really successful, winning college players.”
