After the Celtics selected Hugo Gonzalez with the 28th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, one of his former Real Madrid teammates shared a prediction:
Gonzalez, Spanish hoops great Rudy Fernandez said, would quickly become a fan favorite in Boston.
“I’m convinced they’ll form a special bond with him because he’s going to give everything he has in every moment of the game,” Fernandez told the Herald in July. “And I know Celtics fans appreciate that.”
True, Gonzalez does play with the type of relentless effort that Boston fans have long valued. But as a 19-year-old rookie who’s brand-new to the rules and nuances of elite-level American basketball, and who was a depth player on his Spanish pro team last season, it will be a while before he’s ready for real, meaningful NBA minutes.
Right?
Well, maybe not.
With all of the necessary caveats (this was an exhibition game, and most of the Grizzlies’ best players weren’t playing), Gonzalez made an eye-opening first impression in Wednesday night’s preseason opener. His 18 minutes in Boston’s 121-103 win over Memphis were filled with the kind of hustle plays that endeared him to the Celtics as a draft prospect.
Within his first minute of floor time, Gonzalez drew an offensive foul on a Grizzlies inbounds pass by running through a flimsy screen. Moments later, he smothered a baseline drive by Jaylen Wells, meeting the Memphis wing in the paint and blocking his layup. Then he matched steps with 11th overall pick Cedric Coward, denied his shot at the rim and gained possession to spark a fast break.
Hugo doing it all early 💪 pic.twitter.com/nACcSVEhJx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 9, 2025
Another transition opportunity shortly thereafter ended with Gonzalez racing for a wide-open layup. His drive two possessions later was stonewalled by Wells, but Gonzalez corralled a deflection off his errant pass and fed it out to Chris Boucher, who canned a 3-pointer.
By that point, Gonzalez had been on the court for three minutes and 27 seconds, and the Celtics had outscored the Grizzlies 11-3 since he entered. He drilled a three — a catch-and-shoot from Sam Hauser — two minutes later to put Boston ahead by 20.
His lengthy shift in the second half was a bit choppier (couple of turnovers, two shooting fouls), but it featured two more splash plays: a chasedown block, and a leaping midcourt deflection that Gonzalez followed 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 finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting (1-for-2 from three), three rebounds, three blocks and one steal in his preseason NBA debut. This small sample wasn’t concrete proof that Gonzalez is in line for a rotation role, but he didn’t look like an overwhelmed teenager out there.
He looked like someone who could help the Celtics, and soon.
“Obviously, not every game you can go and try to have three steals,” Gonzalez told reporters postgame. “As (long) as you can impact the game defensively, making the correct (reads), I think that’s the most important thing, apart from having big plays or something like that. Just being correct defensively so you help the team to win.”
Boston could use someone like that. With Jayson Tatum recovering from Achilles surgery, the Celtics have no established wings on their roster outside of No. 1 option Jaylen Brown and potential starter Hauser. Behind them, there will be minutes up for grabs for a collection of inexperienced backups that includes Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Josh Minott and Gonzalez.
Walsh left Wednesday’s game after eight minutes with left adductor tightness, but Gonzalez, Scheierman and Minott all got long looks against Memphis, each playing at least 18 minutes. Scheierman’s outing was a roller-coaster (3-for-13, three offensive rebounds, two steals, four turnovers, minus-3). Minott, a 22-year-old free agent pickup, was one of the stars of the game for Boston, maintaining a frenetic pace as he tallied eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in his Celtics debut. (His one ding: an 0-for-5 showing from 3-point range, including a few ugly misses.)
The Celtics aren’t likely to get consistent, high-volume scoring from any of those players, but that’s not the role they’ll be asked to play. Boston hasn’t hidden the fact that it wants to play much faster and more aggressively on both sides of the ball after losing much of its veteran core this offseason. It needs its young athletes to bring energy and be nuisances, capable of doing the dirty work at high speed.
“We want to play with a pace that not (many) teams want to play like,” Gonzalez told reporters. “We want to make them uncomfortable.”
He added: “If you defend, you’re able to run — everybody on this team wants to have open shots in transition, going for dunks and everything. That’s what we’re looking for, right? … If we are able to run, we’re going to be really dangerous.”
How large a role Gonzalez will play in that effort remains to be seen. He’ll likely have chances later in the preseason to show what he can do against higher-quality opponents than the Grizzlies’ reserves. The Celtics also sat starting-caliber guards Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons and top center Neemias Queta on Wednesday; there will be fewer rotation spots available when all of their non-Tatum players are in uniform.
But this was a promising start.
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