Celtics Rookie Hugo Gonzalez Heaps Praise on New Gonzaga Guard Mario Saint-Supery

The Boston Celtics used their first round pick in the 2025 NBA draft, No. 28 overall, on Hugo Gonzalez, a 6'6 wing from Spain who they hope can come in and impact the franchise right away while they wait for superstar Jayson Tatum to recover from his torn Achilles.

Gonzalez starred overseas for Real Madrid, and was briefly teammates with incoming Gonzaga freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery, who committed to Mark Few's club in early July.

Gonzalez spoke highly of the 19-year-old guard in a conversation with Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review at NBA Summer League on Friday, saying Gonzaga is "going to get a slasher that's really, really aggressive."

"Really good defender on ball," Gonzalez continued. "He's also a big competitor. We're both really, really competitive."

Saint-Supery has long been connected to Mark Few and the Zags, with rumors swirling about the 6'4 guard coming to Spokane way back in April. Saint-Supery is the latest international find for Gonzaga's coaching staff, who have an incredibly rich history of bringing in talent from overseas - including Rui Hachimura, Filip Petrusev, Killian Tillie, Pryzemek Karnowski, Ronny Turiaf, Joel Ayayi, and Elias Harris among many others.

Saint-Supery starred for Spain in the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket event, averaging over 21 points per game along with six assists and five rebounds. Compared to Ricky Rubio due to his elite passing skills, Saint-Supery is an excellent fit in Few's high-octane, heavy ball movement offensive sets.

While Colgate transfer Braeden Smith, who redshirted last year behind Ryan Nembhard, is projected to be Gonzaga's starter at point guard this year, Saint-Supery should get plenty of run right away for the Zags and could play his way into a bigger role as the season goes on, particularly as he gets comfortable in the new system, and new country.