In the fourth edition of our ranking of Boston Celtics draft picks by the number they were drafted in, the Celtics Wire focuses on No. 56, which he team has drafted from five times in its history.
The selections at this number date between 1951 and 2017, and while none of the prospects became a star in the NBA, there are a few familiar faces — and a star of an entirely different sort, oddly enough.
As with each installment of this series, our rubric rates the picks by what they managed to accomplish with the Celtics, and then looks at what they’ve done on other teams (or walks of life) if the race is close.
All that taken into account, just who are the best No. 56 picks in Celtics history?
No. 5: Skip Brown – guard – Wake Forest
Brown was taken out of Wake Forest in the 1977 NBA Draft after an All-American career with the Demon Deacons
Brown did not make Boston’s final roster however, and would go into a successful career in banking instead.
No. 4: Ben Pepper – center – Newcastle (Australia) Falcons
A true 7-footer, Pepper began his pro career in Australia’s NBL, winning that league’s Most Improved Player and Sixth Man awards in his second season.
Enough to convince the Celtics to use a pick on the Australian center, Pepper also failed to make the final team, returning to the NBL where he had a long and successful career.
No. 3: James Luisi – guard – St. Francis
Luisi was the first prospect taken 56th overall by Boston, and like the predecessors on this list, never actually played for the team, serving in Korea in the U.S. Army after he was drafted by the Celtics.
The New York native would have a brief playing career with the Baltimore Bullets, but found his true calling as an actor not long after.
No. 2: Jabari Bird – guard – UC Berkeley
A former college teammate of Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown at Cal-Berkeley, Bird derailed his own career with a domestic violence incident soon after he converted his two way contract into a regular deal.
The former Golden Bear averaged 3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 13 games played with the parent club in the 2017-18 season.
No. 1: Brandon Hunter – forward – Ohio State
While far from a star by any measure, Hunter managed to parlay his opportunity with the Celtics into a two-season NBA career.
He spent one season with Boston, where he recorded 3.5 points and 3.3 boards per contest before being taken from the Celtics in the 2004 Expansion Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, only to be traded to the Orlando Magic, whom he would also play for one season.
He would go on to have a long international career afterwards.
