The Boston Celtics might have the best 1-2 punch of star wings of any team in the NBA, a point underlined by a recent ranking exercise of wings in the league by Bleacher Report that has Boston’s All-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Nos. 1 and 7 respectively in terms of wing stars.
The Celtics are also fairly capable in their frontcourt, with two of the league’s top 30 big men in Bleacher Report’s assessment of the league’s best bigs, but they are not quite so talented in the frontcourt as they are on the wing with both of their players coming in outside of the top 10 bigs in the Association coming into the league’s 2023-24 season.
Buy Celtics TicketsLet’s take a look at which Boston bigs landed where.
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No. 27 - Robert Williams III
“Robert Williams III has averaged at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and one steal per 36 minutes in all five of his seasons,” relates B/R. “Suffice to say, his per-minute impact is better than No. 27 among bigs.”
“But his lack of availability makes this ranking fair. Time Lord has missed 131 games in the last four seasons.”
No. 12 - Kristaps Porzingis
“Kristaps Porzingis had arguably the best season of his NBA career in 2022-23 when he put up career highs in points per game (23.2), assists per game (2.7) and effective field-goal percentage (56.5),” relates B/R. “His presence and production as a rim protector aren’t quite what they used to be, but those offensive numbers signify a game-changer on that end.”
“Porzingis’ combination of range and still solid (though maybe not great) interior defense should make him an easy fit with the Boston Celtics and solidify his spot in our rankings.”
Our assessment
With Timelord coming in just ahead of now-Utah Jazz big man John Collins and just behind fellow Jazz big Walker Kessler, even factoring in Williams’ spotty availability.
We would have him at No. 22 overall, ahead of Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez and behind Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren.
As for Porzingis, a slot ahead of Golden State Warriors vet Draymond Green and behind Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, we think the Latvian center is more properly ranked.
One could make a case to put him as high as No. 10 overall ahead of Sacramento Kings big Domantas Sabonis — and as low as No. 15, behind New York Knicks forward Julius Randle and ahead of the current No. 16 big, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner.
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