Jaime Echenique: A Colombian Basketball Pioneer in Pursuit of More

Jaime Echenique is one of the figures of the Colombian basketball team in the first qualifying window of the Americup. / FIBA

Jaime Echenique knows what his arrival in the NBA meant. He was the first Colombian to play in the most important league in the world, the Olympus of basketball, an enormous step. However, and it is normal, the question about the meaning of his deed can become exasperating because of its repetitiveness. Do we all always ask him the same thing? Afterwards, and forever, will he have to answer the same question all his life?

Before the Barranquillero there were two other Colombians who were on the verge of reaching that summit: Álvaro Teherán and Braian Angola. Only Echenique achieved it, and that is why he made history. However, he says he’s not interested in him. He explains it: it is not because he does not recognize the feat, nor what it implies for basketball in Colombia. Rather it is because he is young, he is 26 years old, and his goal is not for that to be his only milestone. He aims for more, he aims to continue breaking down barriers and he is clear that his debut with the Washington Wizards in the NBA was not the end of his story.

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“I never took my feet off the floor. It was exciting because my story to get there has been hard. But the day after I achieved it I knew that I had to keep working so that it wouldn’t be something ephemeral. Playing in the NBA marked a before and after in my life. My mentality never changed, but I understood that I had to change my work ethic and be even more demanding of myself. “People can’t even imagine what it means to get there,” says the Atlantic native.

Jaime Echenique, in the NBA.

Photo: AFP Agency

In the NBA, in the professional league, the man from Barranquilla played three minutes. He seems minimal, but he is a world. Jaime Echenique takes out the calculator and does the math: “I’m going to give you numbers, so you understand the whole picture. Let’s say that in the United States there are 350 universities. Each has a team of 14 players; 350 multiplied by 14 gives 4,900 players, just talking about division one. Add to that 2,000 players, from that same division, who are outside the United States. We are almost at 7,000. And to that he adds 8,000 players from lower divisions. Every year, among the best in that context, around 3,500 appear for the NBA draft. And they only choose 60! In the NBA there are 30 teams and each team’s squad has 16 players, plus the three reserve players. That is, there are 570 positions. And each year fewer than 10 withdraw. About 3,500 apply and there are only 560 jobs. Playing in the NBA is not impossible, but the road is very difficult.”

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In that cost, of course, sacrifices are implicit. His mother, Lidis Salinas, says that since he was a child, when he abandoned baseball and the Édgar Rentería School to play basketball, Echenique became obsessed with “going far.” At the age of 15 he left Barranquilla to play in Medellín and from there his path was express; from Antioquia to Bogotá, and from the capital to the United States. Alone—with his parents watching over him, but far from home—Jaime Echenique forged a dream that at times seemed impossible. “My goal is to get to the NBA, there is no plan B,” he said in interviews before taking the court for his debut.

How not to collapse, then, when the dream disappeared? Echenique broke the paradigms, made his official debut and became the first Colombian in the NBA. But the illusion was fleeting, the fear of the day after. The center fought to sign a long-term contract in the best league in the world, side by side like under the board, in the paint. However, even though he spent a couple of seasons in the G-League (the reserve division), the opportunity to establish himself never came. He emigrated to Europe, but not disheartened, as one might imagine. According to him, he left with the awareness that there will be a time to return.

Jaime Echenique, with the Washington Wizards.

Photo: Credit: Instagram Jaime Echenique

“Giannis Antetokounmpo said in an interview: ‘Remembering what you did yesterday is egocentrism, but remembering what you did today is motivation.’ The people I have by my side never let me fly. They keep me down. I learned that strength from my parents: seeing things with perspective. There is no such thing as failure, you just have to be patient,” he responds.

The lights of the NBA still dazzle Jaime Echenique

He likes to talk about the Greek Antetokounmpo, but also the Serbian Nikola Jokic or the Cameroonian Joel Embiid. They are the best basketball players in the world and they play their position. Globalization changed basketball and today the great posts of yesteryear have reinvented themselves, they dominate world basketball and, of course, that of the NBA. “Players like Jokic, Embiid, Luka Doncic or Antetoukumpo are opening doors for everyone. Basketball that comes from outside the United States today is analyzed with much more value thanks to them. I deeply admire Jokic because he plays my position. He is a true reference. He is changing paradigms because today we are not looking for a static, traditional center. Today the post player is required to run, jump, and score. He is transcending basketball.”

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The NBA never ceases to dazzle him. He is aware of the other worlds of basketball, but the door, as long as it is open, will never cease to attract him. “It is the square that has the most marketing, you see it everywhere. We are all excited to get there, it is the highest we can reach. Outside the United States, however, there is a lot of life. There is the Euroleague, the BCL or the Eurocup. When I decided to return to Europe, I did so motivated by the atmosphere, the fans, the stadiums and the way basketball feels there. “People only watch the NBA, but outside there is a world of indescribable emotions.”

Jaime Echenique, with the Colombian national team.

Photo: FIBA

Jaime Echenique is currently established in Promitheas Patras BC in Greece, one of the most important European leagues. Along with others, like Braian Angola who is in Israel, he is part of that generation that is opening doors in Europe. The leaders of the Colombian team, which is currently seeking to repeat the historic qualification to the Americup. “We are starting a new cycle and I think it is worth highlighting the effort that the vast majority of players have made to come. We want to leave Colombia at the top. The process is long, but we are happy to start again. We have learned thanks to our experiences in the world and we want to expand the knowledge of basketball in Colombia with the things we have experienced.”

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Still, Jaime Echenique explains once again, it is not the time to take stock. Nor about obsessing about tomorrow. What matters more is what we do today, the value we recognize in ourselves. “At a certain point in my life there will be time to sit back and look at what I did. I have never taken titles to heart. I even forget the things I have achieved and it is the people who love me who remind me. That is important in a world that constantly attacks us. It matters that the people you love remind you of what you have fought for. We have to love ourselves more. We are, many times, our worst enemy, we do not appreciate what we do. “We shouldn’t worry so much about what we haven’t done and we should enjoy what we do now more.”

Jaime Echenique (left) with the players of the Colombian basketball team.

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2024-02-24 15:05:00
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