Celtics may be developing the next great NBA shot blocker with rookie

It may be early days in Summer League, but it is looking like the Boston Celtics got themselves a major steal in Chris Cenac Jr., the big man out of Houston whom they drafted with the 27th overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. Cenac fell a bit on draft night, and the Celtics were more than happy to swoop him up — and for good reason.

Even though the Celtics lost during Monday’s Summer League action in Vegas, Cenac once again showed that he’s going to be a defensive force for years to come. He blocked four shots in Boston’s 102-90 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, bringing up his tally in Vegas to a total of nine.

Cenac wasn’t moving like this in college; in 24.8 minutes a night in 37 games for Houston, he recorded just 18 blocks total. That may be part of why he slipped in the draft. But the Celtics took a chance, and they are getting the best out of him thus far.

“That’s something that they’ve been preaching to me since I’ve gotten here that I need to do. And I’m a player that’s going to do whatever it takes, do whatever the organization needs me to do, so that’s something I’m emphasizing in my game while I’m on the court,” Cenac told reporters, via Justin Turpin of WEEI.

Chris Cenac Jr. on recording 9 blocks in 3 Summer League games after totaling just 18 in 37 games during his lone season at Houston:

“That’s something they’ve been preaching to me since I got here that I need to do.” pic.twitter.com/YDeo72BxeW

— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) July 14, 2026

Cenac wasn’t exactly tasked to protect the rim for Houston, as that job belonged to big man JoJo Tugler. But perhaps this was Cenac being miscast. His block rate thus far during exhibition season with the Celtics has been quite outstanding, and he’s profiling to be a jack-of-all-trades, as he has also flashed some range on the offensive end.

Boston can bring Cenac along slowly. They have Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson to hold down the fort for now, and those two can definitely show the 19-year-old how to become an effective big man in the association.

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