Boston Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez is only 19, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s throwing himself into NBA action. The Madrid native has already earned a spot in the Celtics’ rotation thanks to his relentless energy and fearless defensive mindset - and he’s not just making noise in Boston. His early flashes are catching the attention of fans and analysts across the league.
Gonzalez recently opened up on the Drafteados podcast, reflecting on his whirlwind introduction to the NBA and some of the matchups that have already left a mark on him - including one he missed and one he’ll never forget.
“I’ve had an incredible masterclass so far, a clinic under my belt,” Gonzalez said in Spanish, speaking about the lessons he’s already learning at the highest level. One of those lessons?
Sometimes the matchups you’re most excited for don’t happen. Gonzalez had been looking forward to facing off against Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards - a player he admires - but the timing didn’t work out.
“I really wanted to play against him,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t actually play in that game in Minnesota.”
But if he missed out on Edwards, Gonzalez still got a front-row seat - and a brief, humbling lesson - from one of the game’s all-time greats: Kevin Durant. Now with the Houston Rockets, Durant gave the Celtics rookie a defensive assignment he won’t soon forget.
“I remember playing six, seven minutes against Kevin Durant,” Gonzalez said. “In the first two minutes, I fouled him twice. I didn’t see him - I didn’t see him.”
The young forward tried to hold his own, but Durant’s footwork and feel for the game were on full display. “He faked me out and I didn’t see him,” Gonzalez admitted.
“The second time, I tried to push him a little further out so he’d receive the ball away from the basket, and they called a foul on me. I told the referee, ‘It’s not a foul.’”
That’s when a coaching connection stepped in with a dose of perspective. “A coach friend of mine said, ‘Did you see how he looked at you? He looked at you like that like ‘It’s a foul.’”
For Gonzalez, that moment was a window into just how surgical Durant can be when he decides to take over. “When you watch him closely, when he wants to score or when he feels like contributing or shooting or whatever, he goes and does it and doesn’t see you,” Gonzalez said. “He just goes, gets the ball, does what he does best, which is to be unstoppable, and he scores regardless of who’s in front of him.”
It’s that kind of firsthand experience that’s helping Gonzalez grow fast. He’s learning on the fly, going toe-to-toe with legends, and soaking in every minute - even the tough ones. And if his early minutes are any indication, the Celtics might just have something special in the making.