The current season is the one with the fewest Spaniards in the NBA in the last 18 years: Santi Aldama, who just debuted this Monday with the Grizzlies; Usman Garuba, who has not yet made his debut with the Warriors; and Ricky Rubio, who is still away from the Cavaliers' activity trying to overcome his mental health problems. But this bleak outlook could improve in the not too distant future with a new wave of Spanish talent in the best league in the world.
Some draft forecasts suggest that four Spaniards could appear in the next edition: Izan Almansa, Aday Mara, Baba Miller and Juan Nunez. The figure is already historic, since the most Spaniards in one draft has been three: Ricky Rubio (position 5), Victor Claver (22) and Sergio Llull (34) in 2009. In addition, the four young players mentioned above would be among the first 24 picks.
The list was compiled by Jonathan Givony, ESPN's prestigious analyst specializing in young talent. In his prediction, Almansa would be ninth, Mara would be twelfth, Miller would be nineteenth and Nunez would be twenty-fourth. If this prediction comes true, it would be a historic event for Spanish basketball.
Izan Almansa, the MVP Hoarder
All four prospects are highly regarded in the United States. Almansa, an 18-year-old 2.08m forward who plays in the G League Ignite, has gained fame by winning MVP awards. He won the U17 World Cup despite the national team losing the final to the United States and the U19 World Cup and the U18 Eurobasket.
His physical ability makes him their best asset to be in the draft lottery. Few forecasts take him out of the first 14 spots.
Aday Mara, in the footsteps of UCLA's great centers
Aday Mara is making his debut in the early hours of Tuesday morning with historic UCLA. The 18-year-old 2.21m center is one of the names to watch this season in the NCAA. Without having made his debut, he is among the 20 contenders to win the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award for the best center of the competition. He exploded at the U17 World Championship held in Malaga, where his vision, passing ability and great mobility for his height amazed NBA scouts.
He left Casademont Zaragoza to go to Los Angeles where he is following in the footsteps of Jabbar himself, and will have more visibility and will be a little closer to his dream of playing in the NBA.
Baba Miller, an elite defender
Baba Miller is about to start his second season in the NCAA and his first full season. The 6-foot-11, 19-year-old forward will play at Florida State, where he received a 16-game suspension last season. Now, after being proclaimed U19 world champion and integrated from day one, much is expected of him.
He has plenty of skills, especially defensively, because despite his height he can match up with any opponent thanks to his mobility and wingspan. He has a good hand from three-point range, offensive resources and is a great rebounder.
Juan Nunez explodes in Germany
And Juan Nunez, another product of the Real Madrid youth academy like Almansa and Miller, is one of the sensations of the German Easy Credit BBL. After six games, the 19-year-old 1.92m point guard is the eighth highest rated player (20.0), second in turnovers (3.0), seventh in assists (5.8) and is scoring 14.4 points per game.
His good performances in some World Cup games, his quick and imaginative basketball and his reading of the game have not gone unnoticed by NBA scouts. In his second season in Germany, he has become a key player in Ratiopharm Ulm, reigning league champion, current leader of the competition and one of the best teams in the Eurocup.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3RnJhnm5%2BifKa6jpuYrKOVqa%2BiuMtopZuZX2d9c3%2BOamhoaGZkg3aAmGpvcW9ia4Wmf8RrnWqbaJeBdq6VZ5%2BtpZw%3D