Overview
Hugo González was born in Madrid, Spain, and joined Real Madrid’s youth team before he turned 10. He was a star for the youth team and eventually earned a spot on the junior/reserve teams. In 2022, González was part of the U17 team that took silver in the 2022 FIBA Basketball World Cup after losing to the United States. In 2023, González earned another silver medal after Spain’s U18 team lost to Serbia in the FIBA European Championship. Last season, González played for the senior Real Madrid team in the EuroLeague. At 19 years old, it’s impressive that González was even considered to make the senior squad, but he was a bench player, averaging 10 minutes a game across 57 appearances (seven starts).
Analysis
González is an athletic, big guard who thrives in pick-and-roll settings, which is becoming the norm at the NBA level. When he can’t just blow by defenders with speed and athleticism, González patiently uses screens and his size to navigate into the paint. However, the youngster struggled to finish around the rim at a high rate and left his feet to make too many careless passes. Despite those struggles, González shows promise as a point guard who puts constant pressure on the rim and finds the open guy when defenses collapse. González’s shooting mechanics are also solid, but he’s been more of a slasher than a sharpshooter with Real Madrid. Defensively, González again takes too many chances, but he’s quick and athletic enough to keep NBA guards in front of him.
Quotable
“He has the potential to be great, and I’m certain of it. … His time will come, and when it does, he will shine, whether for Real Madrid or for Spanish basketball as a whole.” — Real Madrid coach Chus Mateo, in October 2024
Some stats & tidbits
In his official debut with Spain’s Senior National Team, Gonzalez scored 11 points (in 18 minutes) against Latvia in a 2025 FIBA EuroBasket qualifier in February. … Father, Paco, was a professional basketball player for the Spanish team Estudiantes. … Mother, Montserrat Pena, also played professionally, for the Spanish team Alcala.
Projection
González doesn’t have as high of an upside as Cade Cunningham (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) or Luka Dončić (6-foot-6, 230 pounds), but the Spaniard could develop into a secondary playmaker like Austin Reaves (6-foot-5, 197 pounds) or Ty Jerome (6-foot-5, 194 pounds). Reaves is a starter and Jerome comes off the bench, but both players handle the ball a ton for their respective squads and are primary offensive initiators on the court.
— Profile by RotoWire.com