Language barriers are no small issue for someone moving to a new country, and when understanding what is going on with a high degree of precision in very tight windows of high-leverage situations becomes the concern, things get elevated to an entirely different level of difficulty. The things we take for granted — where to get food, how to get around, even what there is to do in your neighborhood — become significant challenges that only time and practice will improve.
And that’s the situation Boston Celtics rookie forward Hugo Gonzalez finds himself in, acclimating himself to a novel culture at the same time he’s trying to find his sea legs in the most competitive basketball league on the planet. It is hard enough to establish a career in the NBA, even if the language you speak happens to be the one everyone else is speaking.
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Add in having to learn not only how to communicate efficiently, but also having to navigate the unspoken rules of a new culture, and you have a tall task ahead of you. “I think probably the language and the terms,” said Gonzalez when asked by the press what he’s had to work on since joining the Celtics after a recent camp practice (via CLNS Media Boston Sports Network). “We’ve got a lot of terms to refer to different things, especially defensively, that need a lot of communication.”
Sep 29, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (28) talks with reporters during media day at the Auerbach Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
“We’re working on it,” he added. “So, basically, as it’s in English, I’m working on the terminology.” As to the substance of those practices, the Spaniard said, “We’re going really, really deep now in these practices and also in the training camp that we’ve got. We’re going deep in the details.”
“I think that, apart from the basics, (the details) are the most important thing. We’re going into detail on every single situation so that when we are in the game, and we’ve got that situation, we can handle it in the best way possible so we can succeed on defense.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Hugo Gonzalez has language barrier as he learns NBA ropes with Celtics