Celtics Select JD Davison With No. 53 Pick Of 2022 NBA Draft

The Celtics added guard depth with the No. 53 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Boston selected guard JD Davison out of Alabama in the second round — its only pick of the draft. Davison came out of school as a freshman and stands at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds.

The guard was described as explosive and a playmaker on ESPN broadcast. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens noted he wanted to bring more bench scoring and playmaking in the offseason, and Davison appears to fit the bill.

In 33 games with the Crimson Tide, Davison averaged eight points per game in 25.8 minutes per contest. The guard mainly came off the bench, having only started six games at Alabama. He shot 56.5% from the field on four shots per game, and 30.1% shooting from the 3-point line (averaged 2.5 shots from beyond the arc).

Davison earned SEC All-Freshman honors — ranking second in steals (one per game), third in rebounding (4.8 per game) and fourth in scoring.

Davison will join Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Broderic Thomas at the point guard position and will likely be on the Celtics’ Summer League squad as he hopes to compete for a regular roster spot and earn a full-time contract with Boston.