Max Shulga
| No. 29 – Boston Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 25, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Basketball School of Excellence (Torrelodones, Spain) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2025: 2nd round, 57th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Orlando Magic |
| Playing career | 2025–present |
| Career history | |
| 2025–present | Charlotte Hornets |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Maksym Shulga (Ukrainian: Максим Шульга; born June 25, 2002) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the VCU Rams and Utah State Aggies. In the 2025 NBA draft, he was selected with the 57th overall pick by the Orlando Magic.
Early life and education
[edit]Shulga was born and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine.[1] He moved to Spain at age 11 to study and play basketball in Colegio Leones in León. At age 14 he moved to Madrid to attend the Basketball School of Excellence in Torrelodones.[2] Shulga committed to play college basketball in the United States at Utah State.[3]
College career
[edit]Utah State
[edit]Shulga began his college career at Utah State.[4] He was named honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference as a junior after averaging 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.[2] After the season and the departure of Aggies' head coach Ryan Odom, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[5]
VCU
[edit]Shulga transferred to VCU, following Odom.[6] He was named first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference in his first season with the Rams after averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.[7] Shulga re-entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and initially committed to transfer to Villanova, but ultimately decommitted and returned to VCU.[8]
In his final year at VCU, Shulga averaged a career-high 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, [9]. Shulga led the Rams to both the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season and Atlantic 10 tournament championships, winning the 2025 A-10 tournament title and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They won 18 of their final 20 games en route to a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they lost to No. 6 seed BYU in the first round. [10]
Professional career
[edit]Boston Celtics
[edit]Shulga was one of 75 players invited to the 2025 NBA draft combine in May 2025.[11] He was selected with the 57th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic,[12] and his rights were then traded to the Boston Celtics.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Utah St. | 23 | 0 | 6.8 | .342 | .300 | .833 | 1.8 | .3 | .4 | .0 | 1.6 |
| 2021–22 | Utah St. | 32 | 2 | 13.7 | .512 | .450 | .776 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .7 | .1 | 4.4 |
| 2022–23 | Utah St. | 35 | 35 | 31.1 | .428 | .364 | .824 | 4.5 | 4.0 | .7 | .3 | 11.9 |
| 2023–24 | VCU | 37 | 37 | 32.8 | .446 | .415 | .876 | 4.6 | 3.6 | .9 | .3 | 14.0 |
| 2024–25 | VCU | 35 | 35 | 32.8 | .435 | .387 | .783 | 5.9 | 4.0 | 1.8 | .1 | 15.0 |
| Career | 162 | 109 | 25.0 | .439 | .392 | .821 | 4.0 | 2.8 | .9 | .2 | 10.1 | |
References
[edit]- ^ Joachim, Zach (March 3, 2025). "VCU fans plan 'moment for Max,' will fly Ukrainian flags at Shulga's last home game". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ a b "VCU basketball transfers Bairstow, Shulga share close bond". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 3, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ Wood, Trent (May 20, 2020). "Utah State men's basketball adds another commit in Ukrainian national Max Shulga". Deseret News. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Utah State's Max Shulga's thoughts are with his family in Ukraine as he prepares for Aggies' next game". The Salt Lake Tribune. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ "2 Utah State basketball starters enter transfer portal". The Salt Lake Tribune. April 3, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "VCU basketball lands Utah State transfers Shulga, Bairstow". Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 23, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ^ "VCU transfer Max Shulga gives Villanova playmaking and shooting as its roster continues to take shape". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Max Shulga withdraws his commitment to Villanova and plans to return to VCU". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 22, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Max Shulga". sports-reference.com. March 21, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 21, 2025). "VCU's Ryan Odom hired as Virginia men's basketball coach". espn.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "NBA announces 75 players invited to participate at 2025 NBA Draft Combine". nba.com. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ "VCU's Max Shulga selected in 2nd round of NBA Draft by Orlando Magic, traded to Boston Celtics". WTVR.com. June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
- ^ Snow, Taylor (June 27, 2025). "Celtics Trade Back in 2nd Round of Draft, Acquire Williams, Shulga & Future Picks". NBA.com. Retrieved June 29, 2025.