07/07/2023 and las 21:32 CEST
Despite the success of figures like Doncic, Jokic or Antetokounmpo in recent seasons, the NBA is still a very swampy terrain for Europeansa league that changes and adapts fleetingly to new ways of playing and that, on some occasions, leave in band to talents due to their lack of fit into more avant-garde systems. The ‘Hernangomez’ brothers are an example.
Juancho and Willy They crossed the pond with a suitcase full of illusions and dreams. Some of them have come true, they have played in the best basketball league in the world for more than five years, but they have also experienced the other side of the NBA: the lack of confidence and minutes despite the efforts made.
Willy, effort without reward
If the career of Willy Hernangomez on the NBA courts it is because of the “inability” to demonstrate the worth that he treasured, and not his fault. He hasn’t had any luck with the trainers, who they opted for other North American players in interior positions despite the superiority of the Spanish. An ‘American’ nonsense.
The eldest of the brothers was selected with the pick 35 second round in 2015, but he extended his stay in Europe for another year. The following year he already made his NBA debut with the New York Knicks, and the reality is that that was his best year in the competition. Jeff Hornacek, coach of the New York franchise, trusted Willy for the role of backup center below a whole Joakim Noah, and he approved with flying colors. 8.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in 18 minutes were his figures, providing security in rebounding tasks and intelligence from the low post in the 72 games played. Everything went wrong afterwards.
The following year his minutes dropped drastically and he was traded to Hornets, one of the worst managed franchises on and off the pitch in the past decade. The last thing a young Hernángomez needed to make a name for himself. in charlotte suffered total mistrust from the technical staff, and despite producing at a good level in the few minutes he played, they never gave him a bigger role. Just he played 31 games before being traded in the summer of 2020 to New Orleans.
In Pelicans The same story was repeated, but this time against a superior ‘rival’: Jonas Valančiūnas He was the starting five and his position in the team was immovable. He had his best NBA numbers at 21/22 with 8.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 51 games and in this past course he has given continuity to his notable performances, but they were not used to renew the contract. The next step for him will be to return to Europe, where Barça is already pushing hard to win him.
Juancho, a confident 3 who became a globetrotter
The role of Juancho in the United States was cut short since his departure from Denver, quickly becoming a player who was ‘transfer meat’ constant. He debuted in the NBA the same year as his brother, but he was drafted in a whole pick 15 of the 2016 draft, for which they placed total trust on his shoulders. Franchises don’t spend an (almost) lottery pick on someone who doesn’t give them hope for the future.
Despite not averaging large numbers, He became a surety from the line of three in his first steps through North American lands. Juancho averaged a huge 40% in the outside shot in his debut year and added for Denver from a secondary role, but ended up being transferred in February 2020. He played a good half of the campaign with the Timberwolves, but could not replicate it in the next one, becoming from then on a globetrotter of the league, a label of the wedgel is not easy to get rid of.
In the 21/22 season he came to wear the jerseys of Boston, San Antonio and Utah, and was irrelevant in the rotation for his coaches. Juancho has always shown great professionalism, taking advantage of each and every minute that have been given to him, but in the NBA that is not a guarantee of anything. This season he has played in Toronto, where he averaged 2.9 points until being cut in February, putting an end to his American dream.
Hernangómez, seal of quality at FIBA
In the United States things have not gone as they wanted, but Willy and Juancho are two ‘talents’ in FIBA basketball, a status that they have demonstrated in the international tournaments they have participated in. In the 2022 Eurobasket they were the great leaders of the Spanish team that was crowned with goldto the surprise of everyone.
Neither Jokic, Doncic nor Antetokounmpo; Willy Hernangomez was the MVP of the European after dominating right and left in the paintings. Against the biggest stars on the continent, the man from Madrid averaged 17.2 points and punished their rivals from all areas of the track, leaving for the memory the 27 points against Finland in the quarterfinals.
If one was the best player in the tournament, Juancho was the great hero of the finehe. The little one of the Hernangómez endorsed 27 points to France with a spectacular 7/9 shooting from three, demonstrating his scoring ability and wrist effectiveness on the big stages, a performance that should not have reached the NBA coaches.
Willy and Juancho, in case of landing in the Euroleague, they will instantly become two of the best players in the competition. Talent and quality in abundance guarantee the brothers, who are already preparing for their new adventure.
2023-07-07 19:32:08
#Hernangómez #brothers #fared #NBA
