Two Rookie Guards Notch Solid Minutes in Friday NBA Cup Action

After an entertaining start to the regular season, the NBA Cup kicked off on Friday evening.

There were a handful of entertaining contests, including the Boston Celtics' matchup with the Phildelphia 76ers and the New Orleans Pelicans contest against the LA Clippers.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to a 109-108 win with 32 points as Boston improved to 3-3 on the season. In Los Angeles, Jordan Poole scored 30 and Zion Williamson chipped in 29, but 34 points and the game winner from Kawhi Leonard pushed the Clippers past New Orleans.

Alongside standout performances from the aforementioned veterans, first-year guards Jeremiah Fears and Hugo Gonzalez gave their teams solid minutes in games that came down to the wire.

Fears finished with 13 points, shooting 4-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Despite an inefficient shooting performance from inside the arc, the No. 7 overall selection impacted the game in other ways.

The 19-year-old guard added 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals while committing 0 turnovers in 29 minutes on the floor. Friday night marked Fears' third start in the first five games of his NBA career.

After New Orleans' most recent contest, Fears is averaging 13.2 points, 3.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 turnovers per game while shooting 46.6% from the field and 21.4% from deep.

The Oklahoma product has scored at least 13 points in four of his first five games, and notched more than 5 assists in each of his last two games. Fears' seems to be acclimating to the NBA quickly, which should give the Pelicans optimism despite an 0-5 start.

For the Celtics, Gonzalez finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers while shooting 2-of-5 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point range in 15 minutes off the bench.

Whlie the No. 28 overall pick's number's aren't eye-popping, the 19-year-old is starting to settle into a solid role within Boston's rotation.

Gonzalez has played at least 15 minutes in three of the Celtics' last five games, and if he continues to give the team solid minutes as a new group of players attempts to gel in Boston, the 6-foot-6 guard should continue to have a spot in Joe Mazzulla's lineup.

While Fears and Gonzalez will have ups and downs throughout the 2025-26 campaign, which is to be expected for young guards, both have already played impressive minutes early in their NBA careers.

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