Boston Celtics
“I’m not having a great memory of this day, because we lost a game we could have won.”
The Celtics dropped their second game to start the 2025-26 season with a 105-95 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden Friday night.
However, rookie guard Hugo Gonzalez was one of the few bright spots for Boston.
Gonzalez, 19, finished a team-best +7 with six points on 3-for-6 shooting (0-2 from three-point range), four rebounds, one assist, and two steals in his NBA debut. The 28th overall draft pick earlier this year played 23 minutes off the bench to aid what was a sloppy starting lineup for the Celtics.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Gonzalez said he was happy to get his first minutes out of the way, but wasn’t happy that Boston couldn’t come out with the win.
“It felt good, stepping on the floor was good. But still, I’m not having a great memory of this day, because we lost a game we could have won,” he said.
Gonzalez’s defensive effort helped make his debut memorable, at least for Celtics fans, anyway. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Spain native’s two steals contributed to Boston’s total of 10 on the night, and were perhaps part of the birth of a new Celtics playmaker.
Gonzalez, though, said he wasn’t impressed with his own defensive performance. Why?
“Jalen Brunson dropped 30 points today, so it’s not the day to say that I’m a great defender, honestly,” he said.
“But still, I try to help [with] my energy and to (do) whatever Joe [Mazzulla] is asking me to do,” Gonzalez added. “That’s my job right now, so I’ll do it every time.”
Head coach Mazzulla was pleased with Gonzalez’s performance on both ends in the player’s first game.
“He understands what it takes,” Mazzulla said of Gonzalez. “And I think he has a clear understanding of what his role is, and it’s to defend at the highest of levels and play with the level of effort on the offensive end, and he’s able to do that. There’s things he needs to clean up, obviously. I thought he did a great job of helping set that third quarter tone with his effort and his toughness.”
Mazzulla wasn’t the only person intrigued by Gonzalez Friday night. His teammate Jaylen Brown, a 10-year veteran, offered high praise and said himself and the rest of the team should follow in Gonzalez’s footsteps, energy-wise.
“Hugo is looking great, man. Hugo’s playing with energy. He’s playing with fight. That’s the type of mentality we need,” Brown said. “He’s picking up guys. I like what I’ve seen in him, and how he was guarding some of the other team’s best players. We need more of that. We need more of what Hugo’s got. It can’t be just from the rook.”
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