Max Shulga Signs With Real Madrid

The 57th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft out of VCU, Shulga spent most of his rookie year on a two-way contract before being promoted to Boston’s standard roster in March. The 24-year-old appeared in 11 regular season games and two playoff contests for the team.

Shulga was in the G League with the Maine Celtics for the majority of the 2025/26 season, appearing in 39 games for Boston’s NBAGL affiliate. He averaged 15.4 points, 6.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 33.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .419/.372/.722.

The Celtics could have picked up a $2.15MM team option on Shulga for the 2026/27 season, but they declined that option and decided against issuing him a qualifying offer, so he became an unrestricted free agent last month.

Shulga will be joining a Real Madrid roster that features several players with previous NBA experience, including Theo Maledon, Facundo Campazzo, Chuma Okeke, Usman Garuba, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.

Real Madrid went 26-8 in the Liga ACB regular season and had a 24-14 record in EuroLeague play in 2025/26. While the Spanish club advanced to the EuroLeague final, losing the championship game to Olympiacos, the team was eliminated in the first round of the Liga ACB playoffs by eighth-seeded La Laguna Tenerife in a shocking upset.