LOS ANGELES -- Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas realized very quickly the difference between Markelle Fultz and most other teenage basketball players. During a pickup game at the University of Washington last summer, Thomas saw Fultz, now a Washington freshman, operate with a different feel than most point guards his age.

"When we first played together," Thomas said Friday morning in Los Angeles, "when he first got on campus, you knew that day: he's special."

After playing with each other a few times over the summer, Thomas and Fultz built a relationship. They stay in contact by text messages every once in a while. So Thomas might be a little biased when he says Fultz "will be the No. 1 pick, for sure."

"He has all the tools," Thomas said. "He can shoot, pass, he's athletic. He's got nice size. He plays at his own pace. That's something you can't teach. Like, he's so poised in any type of situation."

At this stage of the evaluation process, most NBA scouts seem to agree with Thomas' assertion Fultz will go No. 1. But UCLA's Lonzo Ball has at least created debate about who the top overall pick should be. Most NBA front-office types who have talked to MassLive still favor Fultz, but two late last month said they would lean toward Ball if they needed to choose right now.

Whoever goes first overall, the point guards will likely go 1-2. It might not be ideal for the Celtics that the top prospects in this draft both play Thomas' position, but the two-time All-Star is convinced he can thrive with any type of backcourt mate, including Fultz and Ball.

"I can play with anybody," Thomas said. "I can play off the ball, I can come off screens, I can catch and shoot. So I think that's, even going back to college, my first couple of years I was off the ball. And then I can play on the ball as well. So a lot of guys can't do both, but I'm fine with doing both."

Boston will almost certainly enter lottery night with a 46.5-percent chance of landing a top-two pick. If keep it and their choice is Fultz, Thomas believes the 18-year-old could succeed off the ball, too.

"He's that good to where I think if he's put in that situation he can," Thomas said. "He's special, man."

Plus, Thomas added with a smile, "Anybody that (the Celtics) pick or is going to be on this team, they're going to have to play with me. So that's just what it is."