First-Rounder’s Desired Improvement Will Excite Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla

The Boston Celtics have made significant changes to head coach Joe Mazzulla’s roster early on this offseason. While much has been made of the departing players, one of the new faces in town is Hugo Gonzalez, the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

With the No. 28 overall selection, the Celtics selected the combo-guard from Spain. Despite being only 19 years old, Gonzalez has been playing professionally since 2022 in the Liga EBA with Real Madrid.

While Gonzalez’s upside is clear as day, he’s still a very raw prospect. As a result, he’s going to spend the summer working with Boston’s coaching staff to refine his game, and he recently revealed that his top priority is to improve his shooting from behind the arc.

“I want to catch up with the idea of the three-point line and everything, all the spacing and all that stuff,” Gonzalez said when speaking to reporters on Tuesday. “I want to get better shooting. I’m putting my focus on the triple line, the shot and the pace and the rhythm and everything so I can improve it.”

In 56 games last season with Real Madrid, Gonzalez averaged 3.6 points, two rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Gonzalez only averaged 11.1 minutes per game, so he didn’t have much of a chance to show off his skills.

Still, when he was playing Gonzalez flashed his potential, as he showed shades of Luka Doncic in his playstyle. If he’s going to excel with Boston, though, he’s going to have to improve as a three-point shooter, as he hit just 27.1% of his shots from downtown during his time with Real Madrid.

Under Mazzulla’s lead last season, the Celtics stunned the league with their high-volume three-point plan on offense. Finding guys who can space the floor and stretch opposing defenses is what Mazzulla is looking for, so it’s clear Gonzalez has some stuff to work on in this department.

There’s no doubt that Gonzalez is going to take some time to develop, but it’s great to see that he’s already looking to work on arguably his biggest weakness on the court. If he can begin to knock down threes consistently, Gonzalez could end up making an immediate impact for Boston as a rookie.