It’s been a whirlwind past two weeks for Hugo Gonzalez. But the Boston Celtics’ first-round pick appears to be taking everything in stride.
Gonzalez spent the last three seasons with the Spanish club team Real Madrid, which plays deep into June in the EuroLeague and didn’t finish its 2024-25 campaign until June 25. In fact, the 19-year-old guard had a game on the same night the Celtics selected him with the No. 28 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and didn’t arrive in Boston until July 1.
Given the quick turnaround, it was unclear whether Gonzalez would join the Celtics’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas less than two weeks after arriving stateside. But not only is the young guard on the Summer League roster, he could see a significant amount of time.
“A lot. I hope he plays a lot,” Celtics assistant and Summer League head coach Matt Reynolds told reporters Thursday of Gonzalez, via CLNS Media.
Gonzalez has a steep learning curve compared to his Summer League teammates; whereas players like Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh are familiar with the Celtics’ system, Gonzalez has had to learn a whole new playbook and new team principles in just two weeks. According to Reynolds, however, the rookie is a quick learner.
“He’s been awesome,” Reynolds said of Gonzalez. “Our staff is very pleased with him, especially having just arrived in the country. We’re throwing our whole playbook at him and all these things that some of our returning players just have a leg up on him with. So, he’s diligent with film, both in the skill side and in the concepts and action side.”
Gonzalez — who’s the youngest player on Boston’s roster — inevitably will make some mistakes in Vegas as he catches up to speed. But Reynolds and the Celtics will live with those mistakes as long as his effort level doesn’t waver.
“The motor that he plays with is something you can’t teach,” Reynolds recently told Celtics team reporter Marc D’Amico. “He plays very hard. … His effort is going to make up for any delay (in learning the playbook).”
Gonzalez’s Celtics teammates already have raved about his hustle, with Walsh calling the rookie a “defensive menace” who “plays really hard … dives on the floor … and attacks the rim with force.” It sounds like Gonzalez is putting similar effort off the court to dive into the Celtics’ playbook and get caught up to speed as quickly as possible.
Gonzalez and the Summer C’s will debut Friday afternoon against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, with tip-off set for 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.
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