First, they secured the Number 1 seed in the Eastern conference over Lebron James and the superstar-filled Cleveland Cavaliers. Then they finished off the Washington Wizards in game 7, moving onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
While it's safe to say that the Boston Celtics have received their fair share of good news for the year, they received yet another reason to celebrate on Tuesday when it was announced that the Celtics would have the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Winners
It's no secret that the Boston Celtics received the high end on lottery night.
Boston's rebuilding of their team after recent disappointing seasons has paid its dividends, as they cap off an impressive season with the chance to obtain a young star that has the ability to push them even further in subsequent years. "It's a good time to be a Celtics fan," owner Wyc Grousbeck said.
Another winner was the Los Angeles Lakers, who took the second overall pick behind Boston. This was incredibly lucky and helpful for the Lakers since they would have been forced to give up their pick to the Philadelphia 76ers if it had not been in the top three. Having the second pick allows the Lakers to be flexible in their decision and avoid a stressful selection between two stars.
Losers
The biggest loser from Tuesday night was undeniably the Philadelphia 76ers.
An ideal situation for Philly would have been to see the Lakers not land a top three pick, which would have allowed the 76ers to steal Los Angeles's 2017 pick in addition to their own.
However, the rattled team landed the third selection in the draft, while the Lakers got to number two. The 76ers have not been blessed with healthy or impactful prospects in recent years, and many worry that their bad luck will continue.
Top prospects
With the lottery selections out of the way, teams will now turn to analyze the best player available for their pick number. With many talented college players out there, UCLA's Lonzo Ball and Washington's Markelle Fultz reign atop nearly every team's prospect board.
Lonzo Ball, who's named has been in countless headlines due to his outspoken and sometimes belligerent father Lavar Ball, has demonstrated that he is one of the best, if not the best, a player that has declared for the draft.
Despite his skill, the Celtics are more likely to choose Markelle Fultz with their number one choice, and Lonzo will probably land on the Lakers as number two.
Markelle Fultz has proven himself capable of utilizing his versatile size and generating his offense flawlessly, an area where Lonzo has seen struggles. Lavar Ball and his unhinged attitude might also sway the Celtics into picking Fultz so they can avoid his annoying and unnecessary rhetoric.
