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Max Shulga

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Max Shulga
Shulga in 2021
No. 2 – Real Madrid
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (2002-06-25) June 25, 2002 (age 24)
Kyiv, Ukraine
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolBasketball School of Excellence
(Torrelodones, Spain)
College
NBA draft2025: 2nd round, 57th overall pick
Drafted byOrlando Magic
Playing career2025–present
Career history
2025–2026Boston Celtics
2025–2026→Maine Celtics
2026–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Maksym Shulga (Ukrainian: Максим Шульга; born June 25, 2002) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies and the VCU Rams. In the 2025 NBA draft, he was selected with the 57th overall pick by the Orlando Magic, and traded to the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he only played eleven games.

Early life and education

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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

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Utah State

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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 four assists per game.[2] After the season and the departure of Aggies' head coach Ryan Odom, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[5]

VCU

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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 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.6 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 points, 5.9 rebounds, and four 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

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Boston Celtics (2025–2026)

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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] On August 7, 2025, Boston signed Shulga to a two-way contract.[14] He was assigned to the Celtics' NBA G League team the Maine Celtics to start the season.[15] On February 4, 2026, Shulga logged about two minutes of playing time for the first time in his NBA career, in a 114–93 victory over the Houston Rockets.[16] On March 15, he signed a two-year, standard contract with Celtics.[17]

Real Madrid (2026–present)

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On July 2, 2026, Shulga joined the Golden State Warriors for the 2026 NBA Summer League.[18] On August 14, 2026, Shulga signed a two-year deal with Real Madrid of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.[19]

Career statistics

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Legend
  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

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2025–26 Boston 1113.3.250.2501.000.5.2.1.0.6
Career 1113.3.250.2501.000.5.2.1.0.6

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2026 Boston 202.5.500.500–.0.0.0.01.5
Career 202.5.500.500–.0.0.0.01.5

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Utah State 2306.8.342.300.8331.8.3.4.01.6
2021–22 Utah State 32213.7.512.450.7762.11.0.7.14.4
2022–23 Utah State 353531.1.428.364.8244.54.0.7.311.9
2023–24 VCU 373732.8.446.415.8764.63.6.9.314.0
2024–25 VCU 353532.8.435.387.7835.94.01.8.115.0
Career 16210925.0.439.392.8214.02.8.9.210.1

References

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  1. ↑ 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.
  2. 1 2 "VCU basketball transfers Bairstow, Shulga share close bond". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 3, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  3. ↑ Wood, Trent (May 20, 2020). "Utah State men's basketball adds another commit in Ukrainian national Max Shulga". Deseret News. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "2 Utah State basketball starters enter transfer portal". The Salt Lake Tribune. April 3, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ "VCU basketball lands Utah State transfers Shulga, Bairstow". Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 23, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "Max Shulga withdraws his commitment to Villanova and plans to return to VCU". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 22, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Max Shulga". sports-reference.com. March 21, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 21, 2025). "VCU's Ryan Odom hired as Virginia men's basketball coach". espn.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  11. ↑ "NBA announces 75 players invited to participate at 2025 NBA Draft Combine". nba.com. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ Snow, Taylor (June 27, 2025). "Celtics Trade Back in 2nd Round of Draft, Acquire Williams, Shulga & Future Picks". NBA.com. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Celtics Sign Max Shulga to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Maine Celtics Announce Opening Night Roster". Maine Celtics. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  16. ↑ Олег Вахоцький (February 5, 2026). "Шульга дебютував в НБА та допоміг Бостону розгромити Хʼюстон". sport.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Report: Celtics to sign Max Shulga to 2-year standard contract". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Warriors Announce Gold and Blue Rosters for California Classic". NBA.com. July 2, 2026. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Max Shulga swaps the NBA for Real Madrid". euroleaguebasketball.net. August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
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