NBA summer league performances will never define a young player’s career. Still, it provides a window into each player’s development.
Here’s a look into the clues the Boston Celtics players left behind in Las Vegas.
Hugo González flashes all-around game
González was typically used in an energy role as a rookie, but showcased his court vision at times throughout the season. The Celtics relied on that skill set more often in Las Vegas, giving him plenty of freedom with the ball in his hands. While González averaged 18.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, some of his playmaking suggested he has plenty of upside as a creator. Early in the second quarter of a win against the Kings, he patiently drew both defenders in a pick-and-roll, waited for the help defender to leave the middle of the paint and found Amari Williams sliding to the rim.
Hugo ➡️ Amari pic.twitter.com/AV1WJD4eZu
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 16, 2026
While moments like that illuminated González’ instincts, the increased offensive burden also came with some mistakes. González shot just 31.8 percent from the field, including 25.9 percent on 3-point attempts, across three games played. During one of the Celtics’ summer-league games, an opponent sitting near the end of the bench yelled out, “That’s not you, Two-Eight” after González attempted a step-back 3-pointer. During Boston’s next possession, the same player yelled, “Shoot that moon ball again.” Even if he was talking some smack, that player wasn’t necessarily wrong about González’s chances of sinking an off-the-dribble 3-pointer. If González fails to earn more minutes next season, it will likely be because he remains an inconsistent shot maker. With Boston’s depth at the wing position, it’s not yet clear what role he will play. Almost any outcome seems realistic. He could start all 82 games or spend part of the season entirely out of the rotation.
Eventually, the Celtics expect big things out of González either way. Team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has emphasized that he expects González to be a critical piece of the team moving forward. Though he’s only 20, good things happen with him on the court, a trend that continued in Las Vegas. Even with more on his plate offensively, he handled his business on the glass, building on what was one of his strengths as a rookie. Outside of Jayson Tatum, González had the best defensive rebound percentage among all non-centers on the Celtics.
For González, this trip to Las Vegas was a much different experience than his last one. At summer league last year, González was trying to adjust to a new country and new league shortly after his final season with the Spanish team Real Madrid concluded. Now, he is far more settled in with the Celtics.
“Obviously it’s different,” González said. “I’m at like 1,000 minutes in the NBA. I know what it is. Before I came here last year I hadn’t played a lot in Real Madrid, and I was really nervous, because (it was) the first time playing (away from) Real Madrid.”
González showed no nerves throughout his second summer league. The relentless worker also helped introduce the newer Celtics to the team’s culture.
“Just the way he comes out and plays every day,” said second-round pick Dillon Mitchell. “Even if he’s having a good night (or a) bad night. And I’ve seen him play last season, and just his intensity, how hard he plays, how competitive he is. He embodies the name on the front of that jersey. And that speaks a lot.”
Dillon Mitchell shows shooting hope and role-playing potential
Wings who shoot as Mitchell did in college don’t usually find themselves drafted. The Athletic draft expert Sam Vecenie wrote in his draft guide that Mitchell “might be the worst shooter in the draft class.”
It was promising, then, that Mitchell finished summer league with three 3-point makes on eight attempts (37.5 percent). Though that qualifies as a tiny sample size, his moderate success also stood out as a significant sign of potential progress. After making just one 3-pointer over 37 games at Texas last season, he sank two in a single game against the Hornets in Las Vegas.
“(Ryan) Kalkbrenner was guarding me, and he was just playing off,” Mitchell said, “so they’re looking at me every time like, ‘Bro, shoot the ball.’ I shot maybe half as many 3s today as I did the whole season (in college).”
Mitchell attempted five 3-pointers against the Hornets, only 10 attempts shy of his total for the season at St. John’s (he went one of 15 on those shots). Taking advantage of what seemed to be a greener light than he received in college, he also knocked down a 3-pointer against the Hawks. Any Celtics fan hoping he will develop into an acceptable NBA shooter might want to avoid finding out what he shot from the free throw line in Las Vegas (one for five), but the signs of life behind the arc were welcome nonetheless.
Critically, Mitchell also showed all the reasons the Celtics selected him with the 40th pick despite his history of severe shooting struggles. His athleticism is off the charts. His activity is nonstop. His cutting opens opportunities. While averaging four stocks (steals and blocks) and four offensive rebounds per game, Mitchell looked capable of filling a role at the next level. One of his putback dunks left new teammates Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Neemias Queta excited in the front row of the stands.
The Celtics have plenty of competition at Mitchell’s position. He will have a long climb to threaten for minutes as a rookie. Still, his combination of motor, feel and athleticism should give him a chance to break through at the next level, especially if he can figure out how to become at least a serviceable shooter.
Chris Cenac Jr. reveals unusual gifts
Let’s start with the bad news: It’s not great for a center to shoot 36.6 percent from the field, as Cenac Jr. did at summer league. He will eventually need to produce more efficiently.
Still, while impacting the game in various ways, Cenac showed why the Celtics jumped on the chance to select him late in the first round. Not many teenagers his size possess such a well-rounded skill set. During the summer league, he delivered some beautiful passes out of the short roll, drained a pull-up jumper off the bounce and forced overtime with a 3-pointer late in regulation. Some much more experienced big men wouldn’t put that variety of impact plays together over the course of a full season. Cenac did it in a week.
Cenac also blocked 11 shots over four games played, which should be seen as an extremely positive development. One of the questions surrounding him was the lack of rim protection he showed during his lone season at Houston, where he blocked just 18 shots over 37 games played. The issue was severe enough that Vecenie wondered in his draft guide whether Cenac would need to play power forward in the NBA, rather than center. If he can block shots the way he did in summer league, he projects instead as the rare big man who can protect the paint on one end of the court while scoring from the perimeter on the other. He showed off some of his all-around talent in summer-league action while averaging 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Cenac likely won’t get much chance to help the Celtics much next season with Neemias Queta, Mitchell Robinson and Luka Garza ahead of him on the depth chart. Still, he has plenty of tools for the team to mold. And he landed in an organization with a great recent history of developing good big men.
Best of the rest
John Tonje: This isn’t the most scientific analysis, but Tonje has a feathery jump shot. It falls softly through the hoop. After shooting a mediocre 35.2 percent on 3-point attempts in the G League last season, plus 30 percent during limited NBA action, he needed to start showing he could knock down outside shots with more consistency. Shooting 45.2 percent at summer league was a good way to start mounting more evidence of that. Tonje also did a solid job defensively and minimized his mistakes.
Amari Williams: The big man helped on the offensive glass and was sturdy defensively down low, but didn’t do much scoring outside of a 23-point outing against the Raptors. Passing is probably his most exciting talent, and he delivered some gems, including a sweet alley-oop to Mitchell. Still, he finished the summer league with more turnovers than assists. There’s more competition now in the Celtics frontcourt and Williams, who returned to the team on a two-way contract, will need to prove he deserves more of an opportunity in the NBA.
Milos Uzan: It’s not clear yet whether Uzan will break through as an NBA guard, but he ran the summer-league offense with care. He handed out 20 assists compared to just seven turnovers, an especially impressive statistic given the amount of sloppiness summer-league play can yield. The Celtics were much better with him on the court.
