Who is Hugo Gonzalez? Celtics continue busy summer by taking Spanish forward in first round of 2025 NBA Draft

The Boston Celtics had to wait around a long time during the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday, but they finally got their man at No. 28 overall: 19-year-old Spanish small forward Hugo Gonzalez, the most recent Real Madrid product to make the leap to the NBA. 

Gonzalez was not in Brooklyn for the draft because Real Madrid clinched the Liga ACB championship with an 81-70 win over Valencia just hours before it occurred. He did stay awake until early in the morning to hear his name called, however. 

This is not a draft-and-stash selection. Celtics president Brad Stevens told the media during a press conference on Wednesday that the team plans to bring him Stateside this season. So, who is Gonzalez, the latest addition to a rapidly changing Celtics roster?

The basics

• Position: Forward
• Height: 6-foot-6
• Weight: 205 pounds
• School/Club: Real Madrid
• Country: Spain
• Age: 19

Gonzalez has been with Real Madrid since he was nine and made his professional debut when he was 16. Given his age and Real Madrid’s status as one of the best clubs in Europe, however, his playing time with the senior team has been limited. The current roster features a number of veterans with NBA experience, including Mario Hezonja, Facundo Campazzo, Bruno Fernando and Spanish legend Sergio Llull. 

Between Liga ACB and EuroLeague — basketball’s equivalent to the Champions League in soccer — Gonzalez made 56 appearances this season. Combined, he averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds, while shooting 40.7% from the field, including 27.8% from 3-point range. 

What do the experts think?

CBS Sports’ draft expert Adam Finkelstein had Gonzalez ranked as his 30th-best prospect on the board and gave the Celtics a “B-” for this pick. Here’s his immediate reaction:

“Gonzalez had a big early reputation in the Real Madrid system. He’s a big wing with solid size and a high motor and defensive upside, especially on the ball. The defense is the intrigue here as his best offense is in transition. The shooting is the swing skill — he shot just 29% last year. Boston shoots a lot of threes, so he’ll need to show improvement there to really stick with the Celtics.”

Here are Gonzalez’s strengths and weaknesses, via CBS Sports’ draft guide:

Strengths

• Physical tools: He has solid positional size for a wing at 6-6, a strong 210-pound frame, and good athleticism, particularly vertically.
• High motor and defense: Gonzalez plays extremely hard, especially on the defensive end, and that’s where he has both the most immediate value and long-term upside as both a playmaker and potentially versatile on-ball defender.
• Cutting and rebounding: He’s a very good cutter away from the ball offensively and also very active on the offensive glass.

Weaknesses

• Shooting: He made only 29% of his 3-pointers this season, which is on par with what we’ve historically seen from him, and also has a more elongated natural release.
• Overall guard skills: In addition to the shooting, he lacks much wiggle as a ball-handler and can get sped up into being an inconsistent decision-maker with the ball.
• Offensive role: There’s not a glaringly translatable niche on this end right now, particularly when the game slows down. The bottom line may be that if he makes spot-up 3-pointers, he’s a long-term NBA player. If he doesn’t, he might not be.

Why did the Celtics draft him?

Gonzalez did not put up impressive numbers, so why did the Celtics draft him in the first round? First, it’s important to note that few teenagers receive extensive playing time at the highest levels of European basketball, and the ones that do are generational prospects like Luka Doncic. 

That Gonzalez was not a key figure on Real Madrid’s Liga ACB-winning team should not be seen as a red flag. When Gonzalez has competed against his peers, he has been extremely impressive. Most notably, he was named MVP of the 2023 EuroLeague Basketball Next Generation Tournament as he led Real Madrid’s U18 team to the title. 

“He’s been on everybody’s radar for a long time, and then followed his year with a great Real Madrid organization closely and watched him in all the U18s and those type of things,” Stevens said. “Just a big fan of how he plays.”

“He’s tough, he’s hard-playing, he cuts, he goes after the ball, he competes, he’s got all the intangibles of a winning basketball player,” Stevens continued. “There are things he can get better at, just like everybody else at that age, but [his] competitiveness is at a high level.” 

Stevens added that Gonzalez’s experience with a storied franchise like Real Madrid will help him make the transition to the Celtics. Not only has he spent years practicing with and playing against some of the best players in Europe, but he’s learned how to accept a role and do what’s best for the group. 

“It’s really clear that he’s about the team, and he accepts and is willing to play any role it takes,” Stevens said. “That’s not a learned trait for everybody that’s in the draft, because most of these guys have never sat.”  

How does he fit in on an evolving Celtics roster?

For months, we’ve been hearing about how the Celtics would shed salary this summer in order to get under the dreaded second apron of the luxury tax, a plan that was cemented once star forward Jayson Tatum went down with a torn Achilles tendon during the playoffs. 

Sure enough, the Celtics got to work immediately once the offseason officially commenced earlier this week. In the span of two days, the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anfernee Simons and shipped Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that brought back Georges Niang. 

The Celtics do not appear to be done wheeling and dealing. At the very least, it seems sharpshooter Sam Hauser is on the table, while opposing teams are going to do their best to pry Jaylen Brown and Derrick White away from the 2024 champions. Furthermore, Stevens said the team hopes to re-sign veteran big men Al Horford and Luke Kornet during free agency. 

For now, here’s a quick look at the Celtics’ depth chart, including only players who are currently under contract:

• Guards: Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Payton Pritchard
• Wings: Jayson Tatum (injured), Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Georges Niang, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez
• Bigs: Xavier Tillman Sr., Neemias Queta

Tatum’s injury has thrown a major wrench into the Celtics’ short- and long-term plans. Without him, Holiday and Porzingis, Boston will be much worse next season. However, unless they deal Brown and White, which seems unlikely at this point, they are not tanking. 

The Celtics will definitely be in the mix for a Play-In Tournament spot, and could earn a top-six spot in a weak Eastern Conference if they can bring back Horford and Kornet to solidify their frontcourt situation. 

Just like he has with Real Madrid, Gonzalez is likely going to spend a lot of time watching and learning from the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart next season. However, the Celtics would not be bringing him over right away unless they thought he had a chance to contribute in the near future. It’s certainly possible that Gonzalez earns some minutes toward the end of the season, much like last year’s first-round pick, Scheierman, did. 

Looking ahead, the Celtics will hope that Gonzalez can develop into a rotation player who can help them remain competitive throughout Tatum and Brown’s prime. In the new NBA, where it is prohibitive to remain over the second apron of the luxury tax for more than two seasons in a row due to financial and team-building penalties, there will be even more of an emphasis on drafting and developing homegrown talent that can contribute on their rookie contracts.