The two faces of Spanish basketball in the NBA

The North American League had a very different balance for Spanish players in 2022, taking some to the top and others downhill.

2022 is coming to an end and, although the season of the National Basketball Association continues, if a year begins to close loss of prominence of Spanish basketball players on the courts of the NBA.

While it will always be remembered that in December Jordi Fernandez led a team from the best league in the world for the first time and Santiago Aldama settled in the rotations of the Memphis Grizzliesmost of the six players participating in the competition significantly lost their presence.

The injury that left Ricky Rubio off the courts in the 2022 NBA

For Ricard Rubio the year 2022 did not exist on the slopes of the NBA because he was completely dedicated to recovering from the serious injury he suffered on December 28, 2021 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Operated and in full rehabilitation, the Cleveland Cavaliers they included him in a transfer operation, justified because the contract ended and allowed to balance salaries in an operation that led to Caris LeVert until Cleveland.

Already as a free agent, he returned to the Cavalierswhere he is expected in January 2023 as a luxury substitute for Darius Garland. At the moment Rubio He has already trained five against five with the team of the G League and the technician John-Blair ´J.B.´ Bickerstaff He confirmed that he will not have minutes in the remainder of December.

The year contrary to what was expected by Willy Hernangómez in the NBA

Willy Hernangomez lost his status in New Orleans Pelicans during the year 2022. Although the start of 2021/2022 was not good, from January to April of this year he managed to gain a place in the rotation of Willie Green playing fifty regular league games. He favored him Zion Williamson he will never return from his injury, but also the involvement and response to opportunities. She always showed it that way, and in summer, with the Eurobasketit was not different.

Returning from Europe as champion and the MVP under his arm, everything indicated that he would have minutes in the Pelicans. But the center from Madrid barely played fifteen games, most of them under ten minutes on court. Therefore, his name is in the transfer rumors and he could change scenery before the market closes. “There are many more NBA teams interested in me after the Eurobasket”he assured in a recent interview.

One of lime and another of sand for Juancho Hernangómez

The brother of Willy, Juan Alberto Hernangomez, lived a bittersweet 2022. Positive because the commitment to the cinema went very well, the film ‘Hustle‘ It was a complete success, but in sports he did not finish finding his place. Between January and February, Juancho he wore the t-shirts Boston Celtics, san antonio spurs y Utah Jazzsuffering the harshness that each player experiences when it becomes a bargaining chip in transfer operations.

In the Jazz He played just 17 games, nine of them as a starter, to feel like a basketball player again at the end of the season and open a new opportunity in the summer, already as a free agent, when he reached Toronto Raptors. But in the Canadian franchise he was slow to count regularly, although he closes December with the confidence of Nick Nurse: As a starter and averaging 25 minutes and five points per game.

Teaching year for Usman Garuba in the NBA

For Usman Garuba 2022 could be described as learning. So far this season he has played much more than in all of last year, with 30 games compared to 24 the previous season. The pivot of Azuqueca gained the trust of Stephen Silas y is one of the interiors of rotation of the Rocketsaveraging 14.7 minutes per game with 3.1 points and five rebounds.

He left behind a terrible end to the season with eleven games in four months, many training sessions, surgery and a summer with commitments in the Summer League -who did not play due to injury- and the Eurobasketwhere he was a fundamental piece of the champion team for Sergio Scariolo.

Serge Ibaka, from best to worst in the NBA year

Serge Ibakabecame part of the inner rotation of Milwaukee Bucks upon arrival. The last month of the regular season led us to think that it would be important for Mike Budenholzer in the postseason but in the playoffs he barely played 22 minutes. The irregularity also characterized the closing of the year with the Bucks. He started playing in October and November, but throughout the month of December he lost prominence.

Santiago Aldama, the exception to the Spanish rule in the year of the NBA

The exception was aldama, who went from less to more. In the current season, 2022/23, he has already played more games than in the entire previous year. To add a plus, most of them were as a starter and with great numbers. The absence of Years Jackson Jr. allowed him to be part of the starting five in the first fourteen games and responded brilliantly to the confidence that Taylor Jenkins deposited in it.

In the statistics, he averaged 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists with a 37.5% success rate in three-point shooting. The evolution is very remarkable if one takes into account that between January and April 2022 he alternated the Grizzlies con Memphis Hustlethe team of the G League. In addition, he had never started and could not play any minute in the Playoffs, but his commitment and magnificent performance in the Summer League from Las Vegas It helped him to gain credit and opportunities before the coaching staff.