Bearcats forward Jalen Celestine was scooped up almost immediately after the conclusion of the second round of the NBA Draft, where two former Bearcats were selected, Baba Miller and Dillon Mitchell. Celestine was signed to a summer league deal with the Toronto Raptors. The NBA Summer League starts July 3rd in Los Angeles, but the Raptors won't be competing until July 9th to 19th, when the Las Vegas Summer League kicks off.
Celestine was originally recruited by Cal-Berkeley out of high school, with a 3-star rating from Glen Head, New York. Celestine was born in Ajax, Ontario, but grew up in New York, maintaining Canadian citizenship. After 3 seasons at Cal from 2020-22 and 23-24, Celestine decided it was time to move on and transferred to Waco, Texas, to play for Scott Drew and Baylor. Celestine averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in his single season at Baylor before transferring to Cincinnati.
Celestine started slow this season for the Bearcats, only averaging 8.6 points per game on the season, just below his career high of 8.7 points per game in 2023 at Cal. Along with 8.6 points, Celestine averaged 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Celestine really carved a role for himself late in the season, gaining some momentum in late January, the 31st, against Houston. In that game, he scored 15 points, shooting 3 of 5 from three-point range. From that point on, in 12 games, Celestine averaged 13 points per game and made 38 threes, on 77 shot attempts, which is 49.4%. His hot streak to end the season likely is the reason he was picked up to play in the summer league.
Cincinnati guard Jalen Celestine has signed a summer league deal with the Toronto Raptors, source tells @247Sports pic.twitter.com/CxCLc61tB7
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) June 25, 2026
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