Just as there was a Fernando Martín there’s a Jordi Fernandez. Along the way, that of the debut of the first Spanish player in the NBA and that of the first coach, 38 years old. This is how you have to measure the enormous barrier broken down by the Badalona coach, officially announced last week as owner of the Brooklyn Nets bench, the third European ever.
The great leap of Jordi Fernández, the first Spaniard and third European to lead an NBA team
The great leap of Jordi Fernández, the first Spaniard and third European to lead an NBA team
This Tuesday, the Canadian coach (bronze in the last World Cup and one of the few who can worry the USA Team in the next Olympic Games), appeared via Zoom with a handful of national media. And Jordi valued the milestone achieved, although he made it clear that “it is not the end of the journey.” “It’s not just about arriving, it’s about staying. For many years. Making a competitive and respected project,” he said.
In his words, Fernández recognized all the previous baggage, the 15 years since his arrival, almost an adventure, to Las Vegas. He spent time as an assistant with the Cavaliers, Nuggets and, finally, until a few days ago, the Kings. So many times hand in hand with Mike Brown, one of his “sports parents.” His experience as an assistant Sergio Scariolo in the national team during the 2017 Eurobasket and even the “visibility” that the Canadian team gave him, with “eight NBA players”, as a final baptism to take the big leap as head coach. A position for which he had been in all the pools for some time.
Badalona
Jordi talked about all that past, but also about his FIBA label and its origins. “I am the same person who left the track in my neighborhood in Badalona. My origins have not changed, they are very marked,” he admitted. And he emphasized the importance of Spanish basketball in that world, reviewing the Gasol and all the players who have gone through the best league in the world, “with very important roles” and even in those Olympic finals (2008 and 2012), “great games”, which gave so much luster to our prestige. “Spanish basketball is very respected in the NBA. There is work to monitor all the franchises, everyone travels to Spain every year. It is important to feel proud, but we have to continue growing,” he admitted.
Finally, Jordi appreciated the arduous task that awaits him in the Nets, a team that has not been very successful lately and that loses in every comparison with its brilliant neighbors, the Knicks. “You have to generate excitement, show changes from the beginning. Brooklyn is a big market, but comparing us to the Knicks doesn’t make sense. It’s a nice rivalry,” reflected the Spaniard, who marked three hallmarks of identity in the game: “A style according to the roster: speed in the game, defensive fiscality and identity as a group. The rest, success, return to the playoffs or not, will be marked by “the draft and free agency.” “We have youth, this helps maintain what you are creating, the identity. But we have to be patient with the process,” he concluded.