After the Celtics chosen Hugo Gonzalez with the twenty eighth decide within the 2025 NBA Draft, certainly one of his former Actual Madrid teammates shared a prediction:
Gonzalez, Spanish hoops nice Rudy Fernandez mentioned, would quickly become a fan favorite in Boston.
“I’m satisfied they’ll kind a particular bond with him as a result of he’s going to offer all the things he has in each second of the sport,” Fernandez instructed the Herald in July. “And I do know Celtics followers recognize that.”
True, Gonzalez does play with the kind of relentless effort that Boston followers have lengthy valued. However as a 19-year-old rookie who’s brand-new to the foundations and nuances of elite-level American basketball, and who was a depth participant on his Spanish professional group final season, it will be a while earlier than he’s prepared for actual, significant NBA minutes.
Proper?
Nicely, possibly not.
With all the obligatory caveats (this was an exhibition recreation, and a lot of the Grizzlies’ finest gamers weren’t enjoying), Gonzalez made an eye-opening first impression in Wednesday night time’s preseason opener. His 18 minutes in Boston’s 121-103 win over Memphis have been stuffed with the sort of hustle performs that endeared him to the Celtics as a draft prospect.
Inside his first minute of flooring time, Gonzalez drew an offensive foul on a Grizzlies inbounds move by working by a flimsy display screen. Moments later, he smothered a baseline drive by Jaylen Wells, assembly the Memphis wing within the paint and blocking his layup. Then he matched steps with eleventh total decide Cedric Coward, denied his shot on the rim and gained possession to spark a quick break.
Hugo doing all of it early 💪 pic.twitter.com/nACcSVEhJx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 9, 2025
One other transition alternative shortly thereafter ended with Gonzalez racing for a wide-open layup. His drive two possessions later was stonewalled by Wells, however Gonzalez corralled a deflection off his errant move and fed it out to Chris Boucher, who canned a 3-pointer.
By that time, Gonzalez had been on the court docket for 3 minutes and 27 seconds, and the Celtics had outscored the Grizzlies 11-3 since he entered. He drilled a 3 — a catch-and-shoot from Sam Hauser — two minutes later to place Boston forward by 20.
His prolonged shift within the second half was a bit choppier (couple of turnovers, two taking pictures fouls), but it surely featured two extra splash performs: a chasedown block, and a leaping midcourt deflection that Gonzalez adopted up with a one-handed fast-break slam.
HUGO FOR DOS 😤 pic.twitter.com/UvlNsYX1mQ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 9, 2025
The 6-foot-6 wing completed with eight factors on 3-of-4 taking pictures (1-for-2 from three), three rebounds, three blocks and one steal in his preseason NBA debut. This small pattern wasn’t concrete proof that Gonzalez is in line for a rotation position, however he didn’t appear to be an overwhelmed teenager on the market.
He regarded like somebody who might assist the Celtics, and shortly.
“Clearly, not each recreation you may go and attempt to have three steals,” Gonzalez told reporters postgame. “As (lengthy) as you may affect the sport defensively, making the right (reads), I believe that’s an important factor, other than having huge performs or one thing like that. Simply being right defensively so that you assist the group to win.”
Boston might use somebody like that. With Jayson Tatum recovering from Achilles surgery, the Celtics haven’t any established wings on their roster outdoors of No. 1 possibility Jaylen Brown and potential starter Hauser. Behind them, there will probably be minutes up for grabs for a set of inexperienced backups that features Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Josh Minott and Gonzalez.
Walsh left Wednesday’s recreation after eight minutes with left adductor tightness, however Gonzalez, Scheierman and Minott all bought lengthy appears to be like in opposition to Memphis, every enjoying no less than 18 minutes. Scheierman’s outing was a roller-coaster (3-for-13, three offensive rebounds, two steals, 4 turnovers, minus-3). Minott, a 22-year-old free agent pickup, was one of many stars of the sport for Boston, sustaining a frenetic tempo as he tallied eight factors, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in his Celtics debut. (His one ding: an 0-for-5 displaying from 3-point vary, together with a number of ugly misses.)
The Celtics aren’t prone to get constant, high-volume scoring from any of these gamers, however that’s not the position they’ll be requested to play. Boston hasn’t hidden the truth that it needs to play much faster and more aggressively on both sides of the ball after shedding much of its veteran core this offseason. It wants its younger athletes to convey power and be nuisances, able to doing the soiled work at excessive pace.
“We wish to play with a tempo that not (many) groups wish to play like,” Gonzalez instructed reporters. “We wish to make them uncomfortable.”
He added: “If you happen to defend, you’re capable of run — everyone on this group needs to have open photographs in transition, going for dunks and all the things. That’s what we’re on the lookout for, proper? … If we’re capable of run, we’re going to be actually harmful.”
How massive a task Gonzalez will play in that effort stays to be seen. He’ll doubtless have possibilities later within the preseason to indicate what he can do in opposition to higher-quality opponents than the Grizzlies’ reserves. The Celtics additionally sat starting-caliber guards Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons and prime middle Neemias Queta on Wednesday; there will probably be fewer rotation spots accessible when all of their non-Tatum gamers are in uniform.
However this was a promising begin.
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