Celtics rookie forward Hugo Gonzalez made a meaningful impact in Boston during his first season and that earned him some national recognition. The 20-year-old finished 13th in voting for the NBA All-Rookie team coming up three spots shy of a spot on one of the two teams. The 2025 draft class featured some heavy competition for Gonzalez, who earned five votes for the All-Rookie Second Team. The First Team featured a host of emerging stars in Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe, Kon Kneuppel, Dylan Harper and Cedric Coward. Flagg, the Rookie of the Year, was a unanimous First Team selection along with Edgecombe and Kneuppel. The Second Team featured a host of players from lottery teams that were able to receive more playing time all year than Gonzalez. Jeremiah Fears, Ace Murray, Derik Queen and Maxime Raynaud all played for non-playoff teams while Collin Murray-Boyles got the final spot after emerging for the Raptors as a valuable big man in the wake of injuries. Hornets big man Ryan Kalkbrenner and Wizards guard Tre Johnson also finished ahead of Gonzalez in the voting. However, Gonzalez saw the least minutes out of anyone in that group, fighting for playing time among a host of young wings for a 56-win Celtics team. Gonzalez got a strong vote of approval from Brad Stevens in his season-ending press conference earlier this month. “Hugo has had a great rookie year and I think is a critical part of us moving forward because his athleticism can beat the moment in the big games,” Stevens said. “That’s a real thing. You can see it, you know it. His strength is off the charts. He’s probably the strongest, he’s one of the strongest guys on our team pound for pound right now as a 20-year-old, so he’s got a bright future.” Gonzalez, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, could play in the NBA Summer League for the Celtics this July to gain more experience. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in his rookie season while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range.