Earlier today, the 2022 Men’s Basketball European Cup came to an end. In the final, Spain defeated France 88-76 and won the European Cup for the fourth time in team history.
And this final night, Spain’s Hernangomez brothers is undoubtedly the biggest winner. His younger brother, Juan Hernangomez, made 7 three-pointers in this game, becoming Spain’s biggest contributor to winning the championship and was named the best player in the final; while his older brother Willy averaged 17.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game throughout the European Cup. 1.4 assists, and with stable performance, won the most valuable player of this tournament.
You must know that the Hernangomez brothers have never really become the focus of the basketball court in their basketball careers. Whether in the national team or in the NBA, they are at best small supporting roles on the court, but it is these two “little people” who have overshadowed the limelight of Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Jokic and other superstars in this European Cup. Superstar, on the top of the honor of European basketball…
Back in 2015, Willie Hernangomez was selected by the 76ers with the 35th overall pick in the second round. A year later, his younger brother Juan joined the Nuggets with the 15th pick in the first round. Also in the summer of 2016, the two brothers bid farewell to their hometown and started their career in the NBA.
But in the following days, the two brothers have been living the life of the NBA. They have always been marginal figures of their respective teams. They have not copied the glory of their predecessors, Pau Gasol. Compared with other active brother groups such as the Antetokounmpo brothers and the Curry brothers, their sense of presence is also very low.
Things got worse for the Hernangomez brothers last season. Brother Willie was barely able to enter the rotation in the Pelicans, but he played in 50 games and averaged 16.8 minutes, 7.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The output can only be considered mediocre; the situation of the younger brother Juan was even more difficult, and he changed three balls during the season. team, and whether it was with the Celtics, the Spurs, or the Jazz, he didn’t survive.
In the past year, his younger brother Juan has made headlines several times, but these hot searches have little to do with basketball games. In June of this year, Juan publicly criticized his former club, the Celtics, saying that he was unhappy there, and pointed out that there were many super selfish players in the Green Army, and such an environment once made him lose his love for basketball. However, at that time, the green shirts had reached the finals, which made Juan’s bombardment somewhat ironic as “sour grapes”.
Also in June, Juan starred as the protagonist in the James-invested film “The Scout to Win”. In the film, he played an Internet celebrity golfer and gradually entered the grassroots stadium by relying on the discovery of a lonely scout. the NBA hall. After the film was released, it once became a topic of conversation in the basketball circle and the film industry.
However, when the two brothers’ life trajectory was pulled back to the basketball court and back to the national team, what they faced was the continuous devaluation and devaluation of the outside world. After all, a year ago, the Spanish team only won the 6th place in the Tokyo Olympics. Willy was barely a member of the team’s rotation in that game, but Juan didn’t even make it to the 12-man roster. In that game, Spain was still relying too much on the performance of Gasol and Rubio. At least at the time, the Hernangomez brothers had no idea what they meant by taking over from their predecessors.
But a year later, the Spanish team was reborn on the stage of the European Cup. With the retirement of the Gasol brothers, the team was forced to start a rejuvenation transformation, and the Hernangomez brothers were also forced to take up the team’s offense. Facts have proved that the two not only successfully completed the task of succession, but also stimulated their stadium talents and offensive potential in an unimaginable way during the game.
With the two brothers breaking out in the European Cup, their situation in the NBA is also expected to change. At present, Willie has two years left on his contract with the Pelicans, and Juan has just signed with the Raptors this summer. In the new season, it is undoubtedly worth looking forward to whether they can reproduce the highlights of the international arena into the club’s events. Even, the basketball career of the two will usher in a major turning point because of this European Cup… (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more
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