Who is Hugo Gonzalez, the Boston Celtics' first pick in 2025 NBA Draft?
The Boston Celtics selected guard/forward Hugo Gonzalez of Real Madrid with the 28th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.
"We've been watching Hugo for a long time," Celtics president of basketball ops. Brad Stevens said of his pick. "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 and there are things he can get better at, just like everybody else at that age. But the competitiveness is at a high level."
The Celtics aren't going to draft-and-stash the 19-year-old wing, as Stevens confirmed that Boston will bring Gonzalez to Boston for the 2025-26 season.
Who is Hugo Gonzalez?
Gonzalez is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound athletic wing who can burn teams in transition on offense. His shot needs work -- a lot of work -- but Gonzalez is a gifted slasher and doesn't mind taking contact as he makes his way through the paint.
Gonzalez played in 56 games for Real Madrid across Liga ACB and Euroleague play, but was only a role player and averaged just over 10 minutes per tilt. With such little playing time, he averaged only 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
He's an extremely raw shooter who hit just 29 percent of his threes in the Euroleague and 27 percent in Liga ACB play. So his shot is going to need some work as he figures out the NBA game.
But where Gonzalez is most polished is on the defensive end. He offers defensive versatility with his ability to guard multiple positions, thanks to his strength and 6-foot-10 wingspan.
"He's played with adults for a long time. He's playing on a team full of experienced former NBA players and high, high-level pros from all over the world," Stevens said of Gonzalez. "This guy has been around it at a high level and been coached really well. When you talk about years overall, yes, he's young. But years of basketball experience, the things that we think are important, it's probably pretty high."
Gonzalez was born in Madrid to a mother and father who both played pro basketball in Spain; his father, Paco, played for Estudiantes while his mother, Montserrat Pena, played for Alcala. He took to the game early and joined Real Madrid's youth team when he was just nine years old.
He's played for Spain in a number of international tournaments, and helped his home country win silver medals in the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship and the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. Gonzalez also suited up for Spain's senior national team in the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.
Teams usually take a flyer on players late in the first round, and Gonzalez is certainly a gamble for the Celtics. But he's already shown some great defensive fundamentals at just 19, and could potentially bring some energy and defense off the Boston bench as a rookie.
No trade up or draft night trades for Celtics
While there were a number of rumors about Stevens trying to move up into the lottery Wednesday night, he stood pat at No. 28 and took Gonzalez.
Stevens was reportedly enamored with Illinois guard Kasparas Jakučionis, , and had a number of chances to trade up for the Lithuanian playmaker. Jakučionis ended up falling to the Miami Heat at 20th overall.
The Celtics with make the second pick -- No. 32 overall -- Thursday night when the second round of the NBA tips off at 8 p.m. Boston's biggest need heading into Round 2 is in the frontcourt following the reported trade of Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks.
Potential picks for Boston at No. 32 include Stanford seven-footer Maxime Raynaud and Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner. If Stevens opts to go with a forward, Rasheer Fleming (St. Joe's), Adou Thiero (Arksansas), and Noah Penda (France) are possibilities for the Celtics.
