Hugo Gonzalez might be a new name to Boston Celtics fans, but president of basketball operations Brad Stevens assured the organization is quite familiar with the international prospect.
The Celtics drafted Gonzalez with the 28th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. The 19-year-old wing came off the bench during the 2024-25 campaign for Real Madrid (Madrid, Spain).
“We’ve been watching Hugo for a long time. He’s obviously been on everybody’s radar for a long time,” Stevens told reporters after the first round ended late Wednesday night, per CLNS Media. “(We) followed his year with a great Real Madrid organization and team closely, watched him in all the U18 and those types of things.
“Just a big fan of how he plays,” Stevens continued. “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. There’s things he can get better at, just like everybody else at that age, but competitiveness is at a high level.”
Stevens confirmed Gonzalez will join Boston for the 2025-26 campaign, as opposed to serving as a draft-and-stash prospect. Stevens credited Gonzalez for playing professional basketball with former NBA players for a long time, noting his years of basketball experience are greater than it might seem given his age.
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“This guy has been around it at a high level, and coached really well,” Stevens said.
The Celtics will be back on the clock early in the second round Thursday night. Boston holds the 32nd overall pick, the second selection of the second round.
