Celtics Could Lean on 2025 Rookies More Than Expected

Just a season removed from winning the 2024 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics roster looks completely different than the ones who hoisted the Larry O' Brien. In the 2025 playoff run, starting center Kristaps Porzingis struggled to stay on the court, Jrue Holiday's age began to show and Jayson Tatum tore his achilles.

Now in the upcoming season, Boston will be without all three. Porzingis was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, Holiday traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and Tatum sidelined with injury for the entire season.

The Celtics playoffs hopes will rest largely on the shoulders of returning stars Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard. The rest of the supporting cast is rounded out by a melting pot of deep-rotation role players and tradeable contracts looking to find a long-term home in the league.

With a fully healthy roster, Boston can still compete for a playoff spot, especially in a weaker Eastern Conference. However, an untimely injury to Brown or White could derail the entire season, and kick off a potential youth movement for a one season rebuild.

A big part of the youth movement could the three Celtics rookies from the 2025 NBA Draft: Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams and Max Shulga.

Gonzalez, the forward out of Real Madrid, was originally a lottery-level prospect before an underwhelming 2024-2025 season that lowered his draft stock. In 27 Euroleague games with Real Madrid, Gonzalez averaged 8 minutes, 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game, and increased those averages to 14.2 minutes, 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in Liga ACB play.

He's a talented swingman with ball skills, projecting to be an enticing slasher and capable defender in the NBA, but hasn't taken on a large role in high competition yet, making Gonzalez an unknown. Still, he's the type of player to give heavy minutes to in a rebuilding season.

As for Williams, the Celtics selected him with the No. 46 pick and signed him to a two-way contract. The versatile big showed off a unique offensive skillset in his senior season at Kentucky, averaging 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.

Williams could make a run for a spot in the starting lineup at some point in the season, as the Celtics lost Porzingis and are presumed to lose Al Horford later on this offseason. He'd be competing with Chris Boucher, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman and Luka Garza for the role –– a winnable job.

Lastly, the Celtics drafted VCU guard Max Shulga with the No. 57 overall pick. He shot 39.2 percent from 3-point range over his five collegiate seasons, entering the 2025 draft. The Celtics could rely on Shulga in late-season bouts as a spark plug from beyond the arc, as the team lacks in spot-up shooters aside from Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman.