Growing up, Rudy Fernandez was Hugo Gonzalez’s idol.
Fernandez is one of the most decorated players in Euroleague history. In his 13 seasons with Real Madrid, he led the team to three European Cups, seven La Liga titles, six Copa del Rey crowns, and won the Spanish Super Cup nine times, as well an Intercontinental Cup in 2015. Additionally, he played 24 seasons for Spain’s senior national team, becoming the first male basketball player to compete in six Olympics. He concluded his career with two World Cup gold medals, three Olympic medals, and six EuroBasket medals — four of which were gold.
Last year, Fernandez went from being Gonzalez’s idol to his teammate — one of many highly accomplished veterans the 19-year-old shared the court with at Real Madrid, something that caught the attention of Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens during the NBA Draft process.
“He’s played with adults for a long time. He’s playing on a team full of experienced former NBA players and high, high-level pros from all over the world,” said Stevens of Gonzalez on draft night. “This guy has been around it at a high level and has been coached really well. When you talk about years overall, yes, he’s young. But years of basketball experience, the things that we think are important, it’s probably pretty high.”
This past season alone, 10 players on Real Madrid’s roster — including Bruno Fernando, Dennis Smith Jr., Dzanan Musa, Facu Campazzo, Gabriel Deck, Mario Hezonja, Serge Ibaka, Usman Garuba, Edy Tavares, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes — spent time in the NBA. That level of talent around him meant a limited role for Gonzalez, who averaged just 5.2 points on 44.4% shooting (27.1% from three) and 2.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game in league play, and 1.9 points on 32.0% shooting (29.2% from three) and 1.4 rebounds in 8.0 minutes during tournament play. However, the experience of being in a professional environment was a key step in preparing him for the NBA.
“I think that this season that I got with Madrid, it was also like a pre-rookie season, so it’s going to help me a lot for my first year, especially, of hanging out with professional players already because I’ve already been with some ex, former NBA players,” Gonzalez said. “So having that experience already on my backpack is something that’s gonna be really useful.”
Like the Celtics, Real Madrid is a standard-setting franchise. Their 11 European Cups are the most all-time, and they’ve captured the ACB crown 38 times — including three of the last four seasons. Gonzalez made his senior team debut in 2022-23 at just 16 years old, becoming the fourth-youngest player in team history. Since then, he’s added two Spanish championships, two SuperCups, and a Copa del Rey to his resume. That winning environment helped shape his mindset.
“For me, playing for Madrid Academy since I was 10, it was playing for a team that winning was a must every year,” he said. “So. I’m pretty used to team success. It’s the first and the main thing for the whole season. It’s nothing that I need to learn. It’s something that I already have in my DNA.”
As the rookie starts to assimilate into Celtics culture, he already has a good sense of what’s ahead. It helps to have a handful of former NBA teammates by his side who’ve made the jump before. Although, their advice is relatively simple.
“What they just told me is, ‘Be yourself. How you play, you’re going to have success,’” Gonzalez said. “And I’m having that feedback really on my mind because they’ve got a ton of experience, way more than that, and if they tell me that, it’s because they know what they’re saying. So having that, I really appreciate it.”
The champagne has barely dried from Real Madrid’s latest ACB championship last week — a title they clinched just hours before Boston drafted Gonzalez — so his Summer League status has yet to be officially announced. But after arriving in Boston on Monday and signing his rookie deal Tuesday, there should be clarity soon. Gonzalez is expected to join the team in Las Vegas, an opportunity he’s eager for.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Gonzalez. “I just want to get out and work already and look out for the next steps.”
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