While the Celtics were rumored to be a potential team that could trade up in the 2025 NBA Draft, instead, they elected to stay put at No. 28. The C’s selected Hugo Gonzalez, who played with Real Madrid, with their lone first-round pick Wednesday.
The Celtics already made a pair of big trades this week after dealing Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks in a three-team deal. As a result, the roster was relatively bare after the C’s made their swings. But the front office is expected to continue making moves to as they further tweak the roster.
First up, Gonzalez is now the newest member of the Celtics. He joins Baylor Scheierman, who was picked 30th overall last season, as the two first-round picks made by Brad Stevens leading the front office.
Here are four things to know about Gonzalez, a relatively unknown prospect:
The basics: Gonzalez was measured in at 6-foot-6 without shoes at the NBA draft combine with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He’s got good size on the wing and considering he turned 19 in February, he’s still plenty young. His shooting will need work as he hasn’t showed off that part of his game much thus far. But he looks the part of a future NBA athlete as he continues to grow into his frame.
Coming to Boston immediately: While there were some initial questions on if he could be a draft-and-stash player, the Celtics will bring him stateside this season, Stevens confirmed. That’s an interesting wrinkle as Gonzalez hadn’t played much in recent seasons. But it’s clear the front office liked him enough to bring him over immediately.
Still a raw product: Part of the Gonzalez scouting report was that the teenager didn’t get much playing time for Real Madrid this past season. That’s natural considering the wealth of talent the team already has as it consistently played high-level games. Gonzalez averaged roughly 10 minutes per game this past season for Real Madrid as he wasn’t able to showcase his skills compared to some of his draft peers.
Stayed up to celebrate: As Gonzalez stood up well into the middle of the night in Spain watching the NBA Draft, the payoff was worth it. ESPN shared a video of his watch party despite it being past 5 a.m. by the time he was announced as the Celtics’ pick. Gonzalez’s team, Real Madrid, won the 2025 ACB Playoffs earlier in the day after sweeping the series 3-0 over Valencia Basket, so there was plenty to celebrate.