20 years after the NBA opened the doors to Argentine players

October 31, 2000 was not another day for Argentine basketball. The date will go down in history as the moment when the NBA opened its doors to players from this part of the world. 20 years ago, Rubén Wolkowyski from Chaco and Juan Ignacio “Pepe” Sánchez from Bahia debuted for their respective teams in the most important league in the world.

Even though another Bahiense, Hernán “El Loco” Montenegro had his first contact with the NBA after being chosen in the 1988 draft (in position 57 by Philadelphia Sixers), where the late Formosan giant was also nominated (2 , 30 meters), Jorge González; the first official minutes of Argentine basketball players were contributed by two members of the Golden Generation.

The “Colorado” Wolkowyski, who was then 27 years old, added 11 minutes in the loss (94-88) of the Seattle SuperSonics against the Vancouver Grizzlies. The game was played in Canada and in the time that the former player of Quilmes de Mar del Plata, Estudiantes de Olavarría and Boca Juniors, among others, was on the court, took two rebounds and put a lid.

That same day, in the traditional Madison Square Garden in New York, the 23-year-old from Bahia, spent just over two minutes in the victory of the Philadelphia Sixers over the New York Knicks by 101-71. That game was the opening match of the season. The point guard, former Real Madrid, contributed two assists.

Only for retailers will remain the fact that “Pepe” entered “chronologically before” than the “Colorado”, since the meeting in New York started earlier than the one in Vancouver.

“It was something very special, incredible, because at the Plaza Hotel, around noon, the team’s general manager, Billy King, told me to change that I was playing at night and from that moment on I couldn’t stop talking,” he said. the former player who forged his sports career in the NCAA at Temple University.

“In a world that was not globalized, I communicated with my family (his parents; his grandmother” Mimi “and his brothers Ana,” Fefo “and” Juanqui “) and with my friends without being able to stop talking,” he added in a note that he granted some time ago to the magazine Basketball plus.

“Coach Larry Brown was not about putting rookies, but Tony Kukoc approached him and told him that as we won it easy for him to make my debut and thus I fulfilled the dream,” recalled Sánchez, today general manager of the Bahía Basket project in the National League (LNB).

That same National League had seen Sánchez make his debut, almost six years before, with the Deportivo Roca shirt, with just 17. The following year he joined the Estudiantes de his hometown (today Bahía Basket) and then emigrated to the United States to study. history at Temple University, in addition to being excited about fulfilling the dream of participating in the most important competition in world basketball.

Sánchez was a member of the Temple Owls team, the university franchise from which he jumped to the Sixers, for four years in the 2000 season.

In the Philadelphia team, the Bahiense completed 24 games, then wore the Atlanta Hawks (five games, 2000-2001) and Detroit Pistons (nine, 2002-2003) jerseys.

Chaco Wolkowyski, meanwhile, played two seasons in the NBA with both Seattle SuperSonics (34 games, 2000-2001) and Boston Celtics (seven, 2001-2002).

Both players integrated the roster of the selected albiceleste runner-up in the world in Indianapolis 2002 and winner of the gold medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the highest achievements of a team that became a reference of excellence.

The two Argentines also officiated as a sort of “forward” of other compatriots who later went through the most competitive league in the world.

In that group of basketball players, Emanuel Ginobili shone but Luis Scola, Andrés Nocioni, Carlos Delfino, Fabricio Oberto, Walter Herrmann and Pablo Prigioni were also protagonists.

In chronological order, all Argentines who played in the NBA

1. Juan Ignacio “Pepe” Sánchez: debuted on October 31, 2000 for the Philadelphia Sixers against the New York Knicks (101-72). He also played for the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons. He participated in a total of 38 games, with 20 points, 21 rebounds and 49 assists, in 187 minutes.
2. Rubén Wolkowyski: debuted on October 31, 2000 for the Seattle SuperSonics against the Vancouver Grizzlies (88-94). He also wore the Boston Celtics jersey. He took part in 41 games, with 80 points, 47 rebounds and 4 assists, in 329 minutes.
3. Emanuel Ginobili: debuted on October 29, 2002, with the San Antonio Spurs (the only franchise in which he participated) in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers (87-82). It totaled 1,057 games; with 14,043 points, 3,697 rebounds and 4,001 assists, in 26,859 minutes, in the regular phase. TOothers played 218 playoff games, with averages of 14 points; 4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 27.9 minutes. He won four titles in the 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 seasons.
4. Carlos Delfino: debuted on November 2, 2004 with the Detroit Pistons jersey against the Houston Rockets (87-79). He also played for the Toronto Raptors, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets. He made 507 games, with 4,115 points, 1,815 rebounds and 887 assists, in 11,580 minutes.
5. Andrés Nocioni: He made his debut on November 5, 2004 with the Chicago Bulls against the New Jersey Nets (106-111). He was also in the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia Sixers. It totaled 514 games; with 5,415 points; 2,295 rebounds and 614 assists, in 12,013 minutes.
6. Fabricio Oberto: debuted on November 1, 2005 for the San Antonio Spurs who beat the Denver Nuggets (102-91). He also performed in the Washington Wizards and Portland Blazers. He played a total of 336 matches; 1,081 points, 1,175 rebounds and 300 assists, in 4,871 minutes. He won two titles with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007.
7. Walter Herrmann: debuted on November 10, 2006 for Charlotte Bobcats who fell to Seattle SuperSonics (85-99). He also played for the Detroit Pistons. He played 152 games, 819 points, 319 rebounds and 66 assists, in 1,939 minutes.
8. Luis Scola: debuted on October 30, 2007 for the Houston Rockets against the Los Angeles Lakers (95-93). He also served in the Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Brooklyn Nets. He played 743 games, with 8,882 points, 4,491 rebounds and 1,194 assists, in 19,001 minutes.
9. Pablo Prigioni: debuted on November 2, 2012 with the New York Knicks jersey against Miami Heat (104-84). He also performed for the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers. He played 270 games, with 946 points, 505 rebounds and 765 assists, in 4,566 minutes. Today he works as a technical assistant at Minnesota Timberwoles.
10. Nicolás Laprovíttola: debuted on October 25, 2016 for the San Antonio Spurs in a game over the Golden State Warriors (129-100). He played 18 games, with a balance of 59 points, 10 rebounds and 28 assists, in 174 minutes.
11. Nicolas Brussino: debuted on October 26, 2016 with the Dallas Mavericks in a match against the Indiana Pacers (121-130). He also wore the Atlanta Hawks jersey. He accumulated a total of 56 games, with 150 points, 98 rebounds and 47 assists, in 531 minutes.
12. Patricio Garino: debuted on April 4, 2017 for the Orlando Magic against the Cleveland Cavaliers (102-122). He participated in 5 games, without scoring points or distributing assists, although he did capture 7 rebounds, in the 43 minutes he was on the court.