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| Marc and Pau Gasol |
The NBA is still considered to be the most important all over the world and its players are, with no doubt, the best ones. But the distance between them and the rest of the world has shortened a lot in the last twenty years.
Not so far away in time, players in the NBA seemed to the rest of mortals playing basketball like a kind of aliens. In Spain we watched astonished on TV the incredible actions of players such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird or Michael Jordan, to name but a few of the most spectacular ones. We wondered how it was possible to play in such a way and thought that our national players could never compete against them.
That´s why Fernando Martín had such a great importance for our sport. His figure must never be forgotten by good Spanish basketball fans as he was a pioneer not only for our basketball but for the European one. He became the first Spanish player, and the second from all Europe, in the NBA when he decided to accept the offer of Portland Trail Blazers in 1986. He showed that we were not inferior to them.
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| Fernando Martín opened the doors of NBA for European players |
Good luck was never on the side of Fernando Martín. Only two years after coming back to Spain, he died in a car accident while he was going to play a match for Real Madrid. Since then, no other player has ever put on the number ten shirt for that team.
People who love basketball in Spain will never be grateful enough to Fernando Martín.
Apart from being a great basketball player he was well-known by the yellow press.
ReplyDeleteSorry Manuel, I don't like basketball that's why when I read your post I thought about his love affairs.
Yes, I know about some of those affairs. But what really matters about F. Martín is that he was the first great Spanish basketball player and that he opened some doors that at that time seemed closed for ever.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree wiTh Manuel. There was a period when amazing players like Michael Jordan, Magic Jhonson or Larry Bird played. No one could imagine an european man to play at the same level as them. But F.Martín opened some doors that will never be closed again. It was so horrible that he died in a car accident just two years after he came back to Spain. He was going to a match, that shows how commited he was with basketball. Some spanish players like Juan Carlos Navarro or Rudy Fernandez played in the NBA and showed everyone that we are so good too. The ÑBA is the second best team in the world, appart from the USA one.
ReplyDeleteAlso I would like to comment about Magic Jhonson´s history a bit. He was a really good player, but he had one problem. He had HIV. When people discovered it, it was a breaking new. The players didnt want to play with him because they were scared. The most part of the people didn´t know too much about the new ilness so, in a way, they overreacted. Magic was so dissapointed and debasted, he was also scared about his wife and the baby they were waiting. Finally, with suppont and effort he continued his life normally. That is something to be proud about. Like Fernando Martín´s effort.
In my opinion the best player in NBA is Ricky Rubio because he plays very well and he is Spanish.
ReplyDeleteThat´s a great comment, Rocío. Fernando Martín was very important for Spanish basketball.
ReplyDeleteMagic Johnson has been one of the best basketball players ever. It was a pity he had to stop playing due to his illness. He played for Los Angeles Lakers in the eighties at a time when their rivalry with Boston Celtics was almost legendary. We could publish a post about it some day.
It's obviously that Fernando Martin opened de doors to the NBA for Spain, and now in our days we have five players in the best league of basketball on the world, and the national team are seccond in the world. This generation of players is impresionant and they would give us a lot of tittles.
ReplyDeleteFernando Martín was first to put an accent on NBA t-shirt.
ReplyDeleteI think Ricky Rubio is the best player ever in NBA, and i agree whit the information abaut Fernando Martín , it was very difficult that a spanish player could go to NBA.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Fernando paved the way for the following ones. Thanks to them, we watch NBA games and we can enjoy Kobe Bryant's play. Don't you like him?
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