MIES (Switzerland) – Paris 2024 will see Rudy Fernandez become the first male basketball player with six Olympic appearances. It will, however, also put a symbolic end to the incredible generation of 1980s born players, and start a new chapter for the Spanish national team.
The best part about it is that the transition seems to be going by smoother than anybody imagined. Spain are coming to the Olympics as the reigning FIBA EuroBasket champs, and they’ve probably got an even better team in 2024, mostly because of their young guns in the frontcourt.
Spain celebrate winning the last FIBA EuroBasket
The Roster
In the breakdown of the social generations of the Western world, people born in the late 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s are called Generation Z, shortened to Gen Z, an alphabetical continuation to Gen X and Gen Y.
In basketball terms, Pau Gasol was Gen X, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez are Gen Y or Millennials, while Santi Aldama, Usman Garuba and Jaime Pradilla represent Gen Z. Thanks to Gen Z growing up, the team is getting better without making a lot of changes.
The 23-year-old Aldama missed the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 gold medal winning run, but he’s looking like a leader in 2024.
At the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Spaincoach Sergio Scariolo gave Aldama the most minutes and most shots per game, and Santi returned the favor by getting 17.0 points, done on a 58-45-90 percent shooting split, while also grabbing 8.0 rebounds with 1.8 blocks per game, earning the TISSOT MVP of the event award.
Also in the frontcourt are the two Hernangomez brothers, Willy being the regining FIBA EuroBasket MVP, while Juancho struggled with an injury, but is still on the list fresh off of winning at the european level with Panathinaikos.
Another man fighting off an injury is Alex Abrines. He should be available for the Olympics, giving Spain a scoring punch and gravitational pull as nobody would want to leave Abrines open behind the three-point line.
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
Alex Abrines through the years
He’s shot better than 40 percent from deep in each of his past four seasons, including a surreal 2021-22 season when he made 62.2 percent of threes across 16 games.
Dario Brizuela, Alberto Diaz and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui are the perfect hard working role players for Scariolo’s brand of basketball, while Lorenzo Brown provides a bit more art to the point guard position.
And then, there are the two veterans. Sergio Llull is 36, probably playing his last Olympics, ready to make another crazy buzzer beater from anywhere on the court, if needed.
However, Rudy Fernandez is playing his last games as a professional basketball player. His national team journey began in Athens in 2004, and 20 years later, he’s set to become the first player with six Olympic appearances.
With three Olympic medals, two FIBA Basketball World Cup championships, four FIBA EuroBasket titles plus two other finishes on the podium, Rudy is easily one of the most decorated players in basketball history.
The Question
Can they survive the group of superstars without a superstar of their own? They are in a group where their opponents have guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Patty Mills, the same guy who scored 42 with 9 assists in the Third Place Game at the last Olympics.
The answer for Spain would be to turn to their team-first mentality, with balanced roles and minutes to sneak out of Group A and keep Canada, Greece and Australia in the rear view mirror for the rest of the event.
The Hope
Coach Sergio Scariolo is one of the best in the business, especially when it comes to tournaments like these. His players know what to expect from him, he knows how to make them winners, and that is a lethal combo at this level.
The fact that they just won the FIBA OQT in Valencia adds even more wind to their sails, and it helped build the right chemistry to pick up another major medal.
The Fear
That group is too close to call, with Australia, Canada, Greece and Spain. The fear is that one slip up could keep Spain from winning the group, and eventually lead them to a bad draw.
Remember, three years ago during the Games in Tokyo, Spain defeated Japan and Argentina, but lost to Slovenia. That one defeat pushed Spain into the unseeded part of the draw, and straight to the United States in the Quarter-Finals.
The fear is that something similar might happen if Spain don’t win the group.
The last 10 FIBA Events
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