Boston Celtics 2025 second-round draft pick Max Shulga is headed to Spain to join Real Madrid ahead of next season, according to Campoatras. The 24-year-old had reportedly been a target for the European giants for quite some time.
He’ll jump over to Spain after just one NBA season with the Celtics, though he spent most of his time up in Portland with the Maine Celtics. Shulga made 11 appearances for Boston and played about three minutes in each. He averaged 0.6 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists while shooting 25% from the field and 25% from deep.
The Ukrainian guard always looked a bit sped up anytime he found himself on the NBA floor. His G-League numbers, however, were more promising.
He made 23 starts in Maine this past season. Shulga scored 15.4 points per game to go along with 6.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds. His shooting numbers were far closer to what you’d expect from a NBA-level guard at 41.9% overall and 36.8% from beyond the arc.
Max Shulga's summer changed quickly
Shulga’s time with the Cs came to an official end earlier this summer when the front office declined his player option for the 2026-27 season. The young guard elected not to compete for another two-way spot in Boston, and instead signed a Summer League deal with the Golden State Warriors.
His time with the Dubs was extremely short-lived. Shulga suited up just once for them this summer during the California Classic circuit. Once the Las Vegas leg of the summer schedule rolled around, Shulga wasn’t able to find his way into the rotation.
Ironically, Shulga heads to his draft classmate, Hugo Gonzalez’s former club. Real Madrid finished third in the EuroLeague regular-season standings after putting together a 24-14 record. They fought their way through the post-season tournament all the way to the final, where they eventually fell to Olympiacos.
Former fifth overall pick Mario Hezonja was a key piece of Real’s puzzle. Now, with him having come back Stateside to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, the club has some work to do to retool their roster. It makes sense that Shulga, still a relatively young prospect with some potential, is a guy that they feel can help them bounce back next season.
Who knows? Maybe a trip back to Europe will work for Shulga the same that it did for Hezonja, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019-20 season. It wouldn’t be the first time a Celtics draft pick has gone overseas to fine-tune their game before making an NBA return (see Guerschon Yabusele).
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