The Boston Celtics have received a lot of surprising contributions this season en route to their 31-18 record. Many of the team’s bench and role players have been much better than expected, from Jordan Walsh and Anfernee Simons to Neemias Queta and Luka Garza.
Another player who’s stepped up is 19-year-old rookie Hugo Gonzalez.
It wasn’t clear what the Celtics would get from their first-round draft pick this season or how much he’d play. It didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a key member of Boston’s second unit and one of the best rookies in the league.
While his stats don’t jump off the page, Gonzalez does a little bit of everything and makes an impact on both ends of the floor. He’s a great defender and rebounder who can also shoot, hitting 49 percent of his field goals and nearly 37 percent of his 3-pointers.
One stat where Gonzalez does stand out is plus/minus, which is typically tremendous for him. He always seems to give the Celtics a boost whenever he’s on the floor and makes a positive impact for them.
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Sure enough, he leads all NBA rookies in plus/minus by a wide margin. His plus-236 for the season is more than double the next closest rookie — Dylan Harper at plus-117.
His average plus/minus of plus-5.36 per game is also on pace to be the best mark by a rookie in NBA history since the league started tracking plus/minus in 1996-97. It’s better than Tim Duncan, Chet Holmgren and every other rookie from the last three decades, including Jayson Tatum, who ranks sixth at plus-4.30.
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There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played, but Gonzalez is on pace for a historic season and appears to be laying the groundwork for a promising NBA career.
Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images
