The Boston Celtics have long relied on the NBA draft to shape their rosters. From the early days of sprawling multi-round drafts to the modern two-round format, the franchise’s front office has consistently used the annual selection process to add talent, depth, and occasional star power.

Minnesota’s contribution to that draft history is modest but noteworthy. Over the decades the Celtics have selected three players who entered the league directly from Minnesota schools. Those selections occurred in 1973, 1978 and 1980, spanning the ninth, sixth and first rounds respectively.

Photo: Yahoo Sports

The first of those Minnesota picks arrived in the 1973 NBA Draft, when the Celtics chose a player in the ninth round as the 14th pick of that round, 151st overall. The existence of a ninth round underscores how much larger the draft pool was at the time, with teams able to take chances on a wide array of prospects deep into the selection process.

Six years later, the Celtics again turned to Minnesota, this time in the sixth round of the 1978 draft. The team selected a player with the sixth pick of that round, the 116th overall selection. While still a later-round choice, the sixth round represented a higher position than the ninth-round pick of 1973, suggesting that the franchise saw a stronger prospect emerging from the state.

The most prominent Minnesota draft choice came in 1980, when Boston used its first-round pick to select a player with the third overall slot. A top-three selection carries the weight of immediate expectations and reflects the Celtics’ confidence in the talent’s ability to contribute at a high level. That pick stands in stark contrast to the two earlier, deeper-round selections and highlights how Minnesota produced a prospect deemed worthy of a premium draft position.

Taken together, these three Minnesota draft picks illustrate the Celtics’ broader strategy of blending late-round experimentation with high-profile acquisitions. Although the state has not been a prolific source of Celtics draftees, each selection, whether deep in the draft or at the top of the first round, adds a chapter to the franchise’s extensive draft narrative. The varied draft positions also mirror the evolution of the NBA draft itself, from a multi-round affair to the streamlined format used today, while reinforcing Boston’s enduring commitment to building through the draft.