Jaylen Brown is fulfilling his role well as the Boston Celtics’ top star and he is receiving props for it as the team continue to trend upward. They are currently on a three-game winning streak and have lost just three times this month so far.
JB is getting his flowers but one guy that should also receive praises is the kid their fans are branding as possible reincarnation of fan favorite Marcus Smart (now with the Los Angeles Lakers).
Hugo Gonzalez’s numbers may not be striking but his recent performances have been huge for the Cs. Fans are now starting to take notice.
Hugo Gonzalez’ last 3 games:
• 6 PTS | 11 REB | 2 BLK | +21
• 10 PTS | 10 REB | 2 STL | +37
• 10 PTS | 8 REB | 2 STL | +22Only Celtics rookie as a 19 y/o since Tatum with at least 10+ REBs and 2+ BLKs in a game. pic.twitter.com/oH1nP0Ykm4
— CelticsMuse (@CelticsMuse) December 23, 2025
It’s the plus/minus that fans are highlighting but make no mistake as it is not a fluke from their 28th overall pick if the whole season is to be considered.
Third straight win for Boston, and third straight shout-out to Hugo Gonzalez! ☘️
6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and team-high +21 in career-high 37 minutes off the bench for the 19-year-old rookie in a BIG comeback win: pic.twitter.com/T6sWCJxFKc
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) December 23, 2025
Best Total Plus/Minus Among Rookies In The 2025-26 NBA Regular Season :
1. Hugo Gonzalez — +111
2. VJ Edgecombe — +94
3. Dylan Harper — +80
4. David Jones Garcia — +38
5. Jase Richardson — +32
6. Cedric Coward — +29
7. Danny Wolf — +20
7. Noah Penda — +20… https://t.co/ylXN24zxih pic.twitter.com/L7crblCYYi— Stat Defender (@statdefender) December 23, 2025
Jayson Tatum crashed Hugo Gonzalez’s postgame scrum:
Tatum: “What I’d tell you yesterday?
Hugo: “I can’t say right now.”
Tatum: “That you’re a bad motherf***er.” pic.twitter.com/yxYhH4K1vP— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) December 23, 2025
Some fans are giving him nicknames now after his performance in Monday win over the Indiana Pacers wherein Joe Mazzulla had to bench his starters and searched for spark from the bench.
We got Spanish Marcus Smart let’s gooo pic.twitter.com/plZMNQ6Mim
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) December 23, 2025
Boston Celtics star reacts to benching for Gonzalez, and others
Jaylen Brown said he was initially pissed that Mazzulla benched him along with Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard in favor of younger guys. However, he just trusted the coach and he is happy as Mazzlla got the results he wanted.
He also gave a shoutout to the likes of Gonzalez, Luke Garza, and Sam Hauser for giving them a lift.
Jaylen Brown on Joe Mazzulla’s decision to pull the started early in the third quarter:
“To be honest, I was pissed… But we trust our coaching staff, so it was the right decision… There is a reason we won that game. Garza, Sam, Hugo, we won tonight because of those guys. It… pic.twitter.com/C6q3cZ8poR
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) December 23, 2025
Neemias Queta and White are also impressed by the 19-year-old Spanish.
Queta RAVED about Hugo González this morning at shootaround: “I knew a couple of people at Real Madrid … that’s all they (raved) about, how hard he can play. I’ve been familiar to a little bit of the stuff that he had going on, but it’s amazing to see it live.”@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/ZQ9YXzCWY9
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) December 22, 2025
Derrick White on Hugo Gonzalez:
“I saw in the summer league what everyone was saying about him, that he just never stops. That’s what I expected when he got here and it’s been true.”
–@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/9TE8Y3DaYE— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) December 20, 2025
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