5 things to know about Celtics’ 2nd-round picks Amari Williams, Max Shulga
"He's been one of the best passing big men in college for a long time."
A day after the Celtics added Spanish wing Hugo Gonzalez to their roster with the 28th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Boston added two more intriguing talents in the second round.
With the 46th pick, the Celtics selected 7-foot center Amari Williams out of the University of Kentucky before later selecting sharpshooting guard Max Shulga with the 57th pick.
Boston initially had the 32nd pick in the second round, but traded down to picks 46 and 57 (while gaining a 2026 and 2027 second-round pick) in a deal with the Orlando Magic.
Here’s five things to know about Boston’s new second-round pickups in Williams and Shulga:
Williams is a big-bodied center with promising defensive upside
It doesn’t take much to see why Williams is an appealing NBA prospect, especially when factoring in where Boston selected him in the second round.
The 7-foot center has the potential to be a defensive difference-maker at the next level thanks to his 7-foot-6 wingspan.
This past season at Kentucky, Williams averaged 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game while starting all 36 games. Prior to his tenure with the Wildcats, the 23-year-old big man played four years at Drexel, where he took home CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors three years in a row.
In his draft preview, Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor had Celtics big man Neemias Queta as the top comparable to Williams.
Williams is an underrated passer
Williams might seemingly fit the profile as a big-bodied, defensive anchor in the paint — but the center is also a poised passer in the post.
During his lone season at Kentucky, Williams tied for the team lead with 115 assists, which were the most ever for a 7-foot player in Wildcats program history.
He recorded five or more assists in six of his 36 games with Kentucky, while also recording just the fourth triple double in program history after recording 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists during a loss at Ole Miss in February.
If he sticks in the NBA, Williams could be a useful asset for Boston when it comes to finding cutters while operating in the post — or dishing the ball back out to 3-point range.
“He’s been one of the best passing big men in college for a long time,” Celtics VP of basketball ops Mike Zarren said of Williams on Thursday, per WEEI’s Justin Turpin. “He’s an elite rebounder. He’s a great guy. He had a wonderful career at Drexel, and then stepped it up another level at Kentucky.
“When you meet him, you’ll see he’s got just an enormous, enormous wingspan. And as you’ll see on the court, if you haven’t seen already, he’s got incredible vision. Those are just key abilities. In the modern NBA, your big guys have to be able to do all sorts of things.”
Williams hails from England
Despite spending five years in the collegiate ranks, Williams hails from Nottingham, England — first dunking at the age of 14 while representing Great Britain during a national league game.
Even with his evident talents on the hardwood, Williams acknowledged earlier this season that his favorite sport growing up was not basketball.
“I always liked soccer more than basketball,” Williams told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “Then I had my growth spurt late. It got to the point where, I knew, I had to start playing basketball.”
Shulga was a dangerous 3-point shooter in college
Given Joe Mazzulla’s affinity for 3-point shooting, it should come as little surprise that Boston closed out its 2025 Draft by selecting a sharpshooter in Shulga.
The 6-foot-5 guard has been a deep threat at both Utah State and VCU during his college career — shooting 39.2 percent on 3-point attempts over his five seasons in college.
Shulga, 23, averaged 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game during his final season at VCU — earning A-10 Player of the Year honors for his efforts.
Over his final two years at VCU, Shulga sank 40.2 percent of his attempts from 3-point range, while his 86 3-pointers in 2024-25 rank sixth all-time in VCU program history.
Shulga speaks four languages
As a result of his long road to pro basketball, Shulga is a seasoned linguist — with the guard capable of speaking Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, and English.
Shulga was born and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine before ultimately moving to Spain as a teenager to work on his basketball craft.
With his immediate family still residing in Kyiv, Shulga told The Guardian that he relies on basketball amid the turmoil and conflict occurring in his home country.
“When I’m on the court, playing in the game, everything kind of just goes away,” Shulga said. “And I’m just in the moment focused on what’s at hand and what I’m doing in that particular game. Basketball helped me to just stay focused. Anything that has been going on, basketball will be my getaway, my outlet.”
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