Kentucky men’s basketball’s Amari Williams was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the No. 46 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Williams, a seven-foot center who exhausted his NCAA eligibility, became the second member of the 2024-25 Wildcats squad to get drafted, following in the footsteps of Koby Brea, who was drafted No. 41overall by the Phoenix Suns.
Before gearing up in the blue and white this past season, the fifth-year senior spent four seasons with the Drexel Dragons, finishing as its top scorer during the 2022-23 season and its second-highest scorer during the 2023-24 season.
At Kentucky, Williams served as the primary center and started all 36 games, averaging 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, shooting 56.1% from the field and 62.3% from the free-throw line. Williams attempted only four 3-point field goals throughout the course of the season and sank one of them.

Williams scored a season-high 22 points in Kentucky’s 89-79 defeat to Arkansas on Feb. 1, shooting 9-13 from the field and 4-7 from the charity stripe.
He also added 11 rebounds and three assists to his stat line, reaching a double-double.
Unlike some seven-footers these days, Williams still earns the majority of his points in the paint, never shying away from physicality, while almost never attempting to spot up a shot unless it’s down low.
“Something that I always questioned coming into this league was physicality. I knew that at Drexel I wasn’t able to show it as much, and it took me a while to adjust at this level,” Williams said.
“But ever since conference play has gone on, I’ve been managing it quite well, defensively and offensively. I’d say that’s something that caught me by surprise the most,” Williams said ahead of Kentucky’s final week of regular-season play.
Looking ahead to the NBA, Williams joins the likes of Hugo Gonzalez on the Celtics, where he will look to build a strong professional career and continue to dominate the paint.