Celtics
Gonzalez has some upside as a defensive difference-maker with a high motor.
With their first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Celtics went overseas to target some depth on the wing.
Boston selected Hugo Gonzalez with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, with the Celtics adding a 6-foot-6, high-motor player whose upside might be tough to discern given the limited reps he logged with Real Madrid.
Here’s four things to know about Boston’s latest first-round selection:
Gonzalez projects as a defensive-minded wing
The 19-year-old Gonzalez’s stat line this past season with Real Madrid doesn’t leap off the page (3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists per game).
But that limited production doesn’t tell the whole story of an athletic wing who will be given ample time to develop in Boston.
“Gonzalez is a high-motor wing with great defensive tools and a slashing style on offense,” Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor said of Gonzalez in his draft preview. “If his jumper and handle develop, he could be a versatile two-way starter.”
“González is a tremendous athlete and has started to get some playing time for the Real Madrid senior team as a teenager,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie added of Gonzalez. “He plays incredibly hard all the time.
“He always gives second and third efforts across the board, both on offense and defense, to get loose balls. González shows some on-ball ability, but it’s going to take time for him to get to the NBA level with it. He’s good enough to be an impactful defender and off-ball player.”
Gonzalez’s motor and wingspan (6-foot-11) makes him a strong contributor on the defensive side of the ball, while the bread and butter of his offensive game rests in capitalizing in transition and capitalizing on pick-and-roll situations.
O’Connor compared Gonzalez to NBA players Josh Green and Wesley Johnson, while NBADraft.net projected him as a similar player to Rudy Fernandez.
He’ll need to work on his 3-point shooting
With Brad Stevens acknowledging on Wednesday that the Celtics won’t stash Gonzalez overseas, the 19-year-old is expected to be a depth player on Boston’s bench in 2025-26.
But unlike other new offseason additions like Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang, Gonzalez won’t be able to assimilate into Joe Mazzulla’s preferred style of play right off the bat given his flaws when it comes to shooting the ball.
While Gonzalez is a strong defender and can drive to the rim, he’s yet to develop a consistent shot so far in his career — especially from 3-point range.
“He’s going to have to make 3s. So far this year, he’s only made 29 percent, and his 3-point shot has never been consistent,” Vecenie noted.
Even if he may not be the type of wing who can routinely sink shots from beyond the arc, O’Connor also pointed to Gonzalez’s 77.6 percent free-throw percentage and his shooting form as a sign that he can improve in that area.
If Gonzalez can develop a consistent shot, his ceiling rises from defensive spark plug off the bench to potential starter or key rotation cog.
He has played sparingly with Real Madrid
Even with his appealing player profile and high upside, Gonzalez is a bit of an unknown commodity due to his limited reps with Real Madrid.
After first joining Real Madrid’s youth program at nine years old, Gonzalez rose through the ranks before eventually playing with the pro team.
Despite reportedly receiving interest from NCAA programs, Gonzalez opted to stay with Real Madrid this past year — even if he was relegated to a bench role that saw him average just over 10 minutes per game.
“Hugo stayed in Madrid when he had the option to be loaned out or leave for another continent, and the team’s circumstances have kept him from getting consistent playing time—which would’ve surely boosted his draft stock,” Artau Pascual, director of scouting for Eurohopes, told FIBA Basketball.
Playing on a team with former NBA players Mario Hezonja and Facundo Campazzo — along with other seasoned players who were much older than him — Gonzalez had little opportunity to showcase his talents during his draft year.
Still, those limited reps made Gonzalez a potential under-the-radar pickup for Boston at this stage of the first round.
“Not many players are able to play at such a highly-decorated club as Hugo Gonzalez did with Real Madrid,” Antonio Dias, basketball scout for Eurohoops, told FIBA Basketball. “He has probably dropped on consensus draft boards by staying with a team full of NBA-caliber guys and not getting as many minutes, especially at the start of the season.”
“But the experience of playing and practicing weekly and daily with professional basketball players of that quality will always be valuable experience for what’s to come.”
Gonzalez comes from a basketball family
It should come as little surprise that Gonzalez started playing organized hoops with Real Madrid at a young age.
Both of Gonzalez’s parents were professional basketball players in Spain. His father, Paco, played pro hoops for the Spanish team Estudiantes, while his mother, Montserrat Pena played professionally for the Spanish team Alcala — per NBA.com.
“My first basketball memories come from my parents. They played basketball and they influenced me a bit,” Gonzalez said in an interview with the ACB YouTube channel. “It made me want to play as well.”
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