2016–17 Boston Celtics season

The 2016–17 Boston Celtics season was the 71st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team obtained the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2008 when they won the NBA title. At 53–29, they finished with the lowest winning percentage of a No. 1 seed since the Detroit Pistons in 2007.

In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round in six games, advancing to the Semifinals, where they then defeated the Washington Wizards in seven games, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. Despite falling short in their quest to win an 18th NBA title, the season was a success, as it saw the team make its deepest playoff run since 2012.

Isaiah Thomas was voted to play in the 2017 All-Star Game.

Following the season, Avery Bradley was traded to the Detroit Pistons, Kelly Olynyk signed with the Miami Heat, and both Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, ending the Isaiah Thomas era in Boston in exchange for Kyrie Irving. Jaylen Brown was also added to the roster.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club
1	3	Jaylen Brown	SF	United States	California
1	16	Guerschon Yabusele	PF	France	Rouen Métropole
1	23	Ante Žižić	C	Croatia	Cibona Zagreb
2	31	Deyonta Davis	PF / C	United States	Michigan State
2	35	Rade Zagorac	SG / SF	Serbia	Mega Leks
2	45	Demetrius Jackson	PG	United States	Notre Dame
2	51	Ben Bentil	PF	Ghana	Providence
2	58	Abdel Nader	SF	Egypt	Iowa State

The Boston Celtics hold a modern-day league record with eight picks in the 2016 draft, the most picks held in a single draft since the NBA modified the draft to two rounds. Their top selection was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets due to them holding the third-worst record on the season. It was part of their return for trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in 2013. Their middle first-round selection, meanwhile, was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks in the 2014 trade that saw Rajon Rondo and Dwight Powell shipped out of Boston. The last first-round selection they held was their own. Meanwhile, every second-round selection for the Celtics that year was acquired via trade while their own second-round selection (which would have been pick #52) was sent away to the Utah Jazz.

For the first round of the draft, the Celtics drafted Jaylen Brown from the University of California, Guerschon Yabusele from France, and Ante Žižić from Croatia. In the second round, Boston took a surprise lottery-level talent still on the board in Deyonta Davis from Michigan State University, Rade Zagorac from Serbia, Demetrius Jackson (also considered by some a first-round level talent) from the University of Notre Dame, the first ever Ghanaian chosen in Ben Bentil (projected to be picked late in the first round) from Providence College, and the Egyptian Abdel Nader from Iowa State University. Deyonta Davis and Rade Zagorac would be the only players whose draft rights would be traded the night of the draft, as they would be going to the Memphis Grizzlies later for a 2018 second-round selection. Meanwhile, both Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Žižić would continue to remain overseas in China and Croatia respectively for one more season. The others signed contracts with the team, save for Ben Bentil and Abdel Nader. The latter headed off to the Maine Red Claws and the former travelled to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (three different times) and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China before being a part of the Dallas Mavericks later on in the season.

Player	Reason	Current Team
Evan Turner[3][4]	Signed 4-year contract worth $70 million	Portland Trail Blazers
Jared Sullinger[5]	Waived	Toronto Raptors
R. J. Hunter[6]	Waived	Chicago Bulls / Windy City Bulls / Long Island Nets