Celtics reportedly signing NBA champion Mitchell Robinson to address biggest need

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Jul 1, 2026

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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics made clear entering this offseason that they wanted to add an impact center.

On Wednesday, they did, agreeing to terms on a three-year, $47.4 million contract with Mitchell Robinson, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Robinson, who played a key role on the New York Knicks’ championship team, was arguably the best player available in a lean crop of unrestricted free agent big men. He is a limited player — a specialist of sorts — but is elite in his areas of expertise.

Listed at 7 feet, the 28-year-old is a top-tier defender and one of the NBA’s premier rebounders, especially on the offensive end.

This season, he ranked in the 87th percentile among big men in block percentage, the 95th percentile in steal percentage and the 100th percentile in offensive rebounding percentage, per Cleaning the Glass. His offensive rebounding has ranked in the 89th percentile or better in each of his eight seasons, all of which he spent in New York.

The Celtics emphasized crashing the glass this season, jumping from 18th to fifth in team-wide OREB%. Robinson’s arrival should make them even more formidable on that front.

Robinson won’t offer much value as a shooter, however. More than 90% of his career field-goal attempts have come inside three feet, per Basketball-Reference, and he’s so unreliable at the free-throw line that opposing coaches — most notably his new Celtics boss, Joe Mazzulla — have instructed their players to intentionally foul him. Robinson made 40.8% of his foul shots this season and is at 50.8% for his career.

Injuries also have been an issue for Robinson, who missed nearly 40% of the Knicks’ games during his time with the franchise. His 60 appearances this season were his most since 2021-22.

Neemias Queta, who is coming off a breakout season but disappointing postseason as Boston’s starting center, also is a traditional interior scorer, making just one 3-pointer on 11 attempts in his career. Backup Luka Garza is more capable in that area, shooting a career-best 43.3% from three this season on 1.8 attempts per game.

The Celtics picked up the team option in Queta’s contract earlier this week, and Garza has one year remaining on the veteran-minimum deal he signed last summer. Second-year pro Amari Williams will also be back, reportedly on a new two-way contract, and Boston used its first-round draft pick on a developmental big man in Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. Veteran Nikola Vucevic, the Celtics’ lone unrestricted free agent, will not return after an unimpressive half-season on Causeway Street.

That group needed an upgrade, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said multiple times this offseason, and Robinson should provide that. He led the NBA in rebounds and offensive rebounds per 100 possessions this season (22.2 and 10.6), with a 72.3% effective field-goal percentage that ranked in the 95th percentile among bigs. More than half of his made field goals were dunks — a metric in which Boston ranked last in the NBA.

“He’s good on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said during Boston’s 2025 playoff series against New York, which the Knicks won in six games. “He’s able to play by himself. He’s able to play with (Karl-Anthony) Towns on the defensive end. His ability to protect the rim, his ability to get extra possessions, and then his screening. … He’s a huge factor to what they do.”

By using the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Robinson, the Celtics will be hard-capped at the first apron for this season, meaning their salary total cannot exceed $209 million. The final season of Robinson’s contract is a player option for 2028-29, per Charania’s report.

Boston also reportedly agreed to terms with veteran guard Mike Conley on a one-year deal. Conley, who turns 39 in October and is entering his 20th NBA season, will provide depth and experience in a position group headlined by Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.

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