After not moving up in Thursday night's NBA Draft, the Celtics selected a guard who can get up.
Boston took Alabama point guard JD Davison with the 53rd overall pick in the second round. The first thing to know about the 6-foot-3 19-year-old is that he is super athletic and has an exhilarating highlight reel.
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The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, who had Davison ranked 49th in his pre-draft rankings, describes him as an "exciting shot-maker" and "viral dunker." NBADraft.net calls him "a truly breathtaking athlete" and says he "looks like he bounces off a trampoline when he skies to the rim."
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens called Davison "very explosive" after the pick.
He's right. As evidence, here are just a few examples of what Davison has to offer:
Davison averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.3 assists per game as a freshman for the Crimson Tide last season.
Of course, there are reasons he was still available late in the second round despite his supreme athleticism.
While he is good at finishing around the rim, he struggles as an outside shooter, making just 30.1% of his threes last season. Davison is also turnover-prone, averaging 2.9 per game. Some scouting reports also question whether he'll be able to guard more than one or maybe two positions at the NBA level given his size.
Davison's athleticism quite literally jumps off the page and makes him an intriguing prospect, but it's clear there will need to be a good amount of polishing before he's a consistent contributor at the NBA level.
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