ALTHOUGH it has been tough to get a read on his play, but Hugo Gonzalez has been proving himself as a jack of all trades NBA Draft prospect ahead of the 2025 intake, and seems a good fit for teams currently in the championship window.

In terms of NBA ready prospects, Gonzalez is in the upper ring of this class, given his impressive defensive traits, productivity as a slasher and upside as a shooter, and if teams heading to the draft consider themselves still in contention, Gonzalez is ready to slot into a rotation.

Although his ball handling needs some work, and due to the fact that he was playing for Real Madrid in the EuroLeague, Gonzalez does not have as much basketball experience as others in the class. However, the upside is still enough to justify selection inside the top 20.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will run through some of the clearest comparisons to already established NBA talents, with Gonzalez looking similar to some of the best three-and-D players in the NBA.

Josh Green – Charlotte Hornets

A familiar name for Australian basketball fans, Green has forged a career as a great perimeter defender who can also shoot the ball and score inside. Green was drafted to the Dallas Mavericks with the 18th selection in 2020 after a strong campaign with the Arizona Wildcats, and became an integral part of the team that went to the finals in 2024, ultimately losing to the Boston Celtics. Following that, he was a part of a six-team sign and trade that sent him to the Hornets, where he locked down a starting spot and looms as a crucial part of the Hornets moving forward alongside some high volume shooters. Although Green is a bit further along in his development as a shooter, the perimeter defence and spot up shooting does look a lot like Gonzalez, showing the blueprint for a player of his mould.

Luguentz Dort – Oklahoma City Thunder

One of the top perimeter defenders in the world, Dort has made life extremely tough for some of the NBA’s best players, and is playing a vital role for a contending Thunder side. He joined Oklahoma City in 2019 after going undrafted, and progressed steadily over the years that followed, breaking out in the 2020 playoffs after shutting down James Harden. Since then, his offensive game has developed in a big way, and he has now become one of the best lockdown players in the entire competition, often tasked with restricting the opposition’s best backcourt player. Dort is undoubtedly a better defender than Gonzalez, and his three-point shooting is further down the line, but Gonzalez has the upside to develop these aspects of his game even further and could be just as impactful as Dort.

Derrick White – Boston Celtics

Another integral member of a successful side, White has been getting reward for effort of late after cementing his spot with the Celtics. He joined the San Antonio Spurs with the 29th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, but was traded to Boston in 2022 and became a star of the competition in a bigger market. An elite perimeter defender who can score the ball well in his own right, he was named to the All-Defensive Second Team on two separate occasions, and won a championship with the team in 2024, playing a vital role in the starting lineup. Although Gonzalez is taller, there are still similarities in the two-way nature in which both players operate, and the former will be hoping to have just as much of an impact.