The 2025 NBA Draft wound up being a very international affair for the Celtics.
After selecting Spanish wing Hugo Gonzalez at No. 28 overall and British big man Amari Williams at No. 46, Boston rounded out its draft class by taking Ukrainian guard Max Shulga with the 57th pick.
Shulga played five seasons of college basketball in the U.S., first at Utah State — where he overlapped with current Celtics center Neemias Queta — and then at VCU. His best trait: perimeter shooting.
The 23-year-old attempted 5.5 3-pointers per game over his two seasons at VCU and made 40.2% of them. He averaged 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game this past season, leading his team to an Atlantic 10 Conference championship and earning A-10 Player of the Year honors.
But Shulga lacks ideal height (6-foot-4) and is considered a below-average athlete and defender by NBA standards, which explains why he was available with the third-to-last pick in the draft. He and Shulga both are expected to sign two-way contracts, which will allow them to split time between Boston and its G League affiliate in Maine.
ESPN ranked Shulga as the 76th-best prospect in this year’s class. Yahoo Sports and The Athletic were higher on him, ranking him 47th and 59th, respectively.
“Max is a tough guy who can handle and shoot and elite toughness,” Celtics vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren said Thursday night. “He’s been all over the world. He moved to Spain when he was 13, I think, to play basketball. … But he’s just a winner.”
The Celtics acquired the picks they used to take Williams and Shulga by trading the 32nd selection to Orlando, which also gave up second-rounders in 2026 and 2027 to get the deal done. Boston traded back after missing out on St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 to Phoenix), whom ESPN’s Shams Charania reported was their top Round 2 target.
Originally Published:
