Rudy's Fernanado Martin Tribute

During the All-Star break, Rudy Fernandez, the first European to compete in the event's slam dunk contest, wore the jersey of the Fernando Martin, the first Spanish player AND first European player to play in the NBA w/o playing in college.

As Stuart from interbasket.net writes, 2/3 of TNT's announcers reacted to the unexpected tribute as if they were blindsided:

“Martin?” questioned Reggle Miller.

“Martin?” followed Kenny Smith.“Who’s Martin?”

“Larue Martin?” guessed Miller referring to the former #1 draft bust of 1972. “Ricky Martin?”

“I don’t know who Martin is.” said Smith, giving up.

“This is for Fernando Martin,” interrupted Kevin Harlan, the third announcer, as TNT broadcast an image of Fernando Martin on the screen.

“He’s wearing number ten in tribute to Fernando Martin… Martin was the first Spanish player in the NBA and briefly played for the Trailblazers he died in a car accident so in tribute… to him.”

“It’s a great tribute,” Smith responded.

I have to say, the first thing I thought was “Huh? Kenyon Martin?“ but quickly realized it was Fernando Martin. I was excited to have been in the small minority of people that actually knew what Rudy’s dedication was referring to.

However, it’s not a surprise that many were unaware of Martin, as the power forward played only 24 games for the Portland Trailblazers during an injury-plagued campaign back in the 1986-87 NBA season, before returning to Spain to play for club team Real Madrid.

For his dedication dunk, Fernandez threw a behind the back pass off the backboard and slammed it in with his right hand.

Despite not knowing who Martin was, the crowd was obviously disappointed with the score the dunk received as evidenced by the groans and boos when his point total was announced. Fernandez was awarded 42 points from the former Phoenix Sun players; Tom Chambers (9), Dan Majerle (9), Kevin Johnson (8), and former slam dunk champions Cedric Ceballos (8), and Larry Nance (8).

And though Fernandez ended the round in last place behind Dwight Howard (50), Nate Robinson (46), and J.R. Smith (43), he made a beautiful and lasting tribute to a great player that met an early demise.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the Martin courtesy of interbasket's profile...

Name: Fernando Martín Espina
Nickname: N/A
Born: 03/25/1962
Status: Deceased, December 03, 1989
Origin: Madrid, Spain
Height: 6-10/2,05m
Weight: 245lbs/108,9kg
Schools: N/A
Drafted: 1985, Second Round, 38th overall pick by the New Jersey Nets
Languages: Spanish
Teams (jersey): Spanish National Team (10), Real Madrid (10), Portland Trailblazers

He is father of Jan Fernando Martín next to the German model Petra Sonneborn. Their parents raised him to love many sports and he exceled in many. Fernando Martin wasn't only a great basketball player, he was also 5 times champion of swimming in Castile and reached a great level in judo, table tennis and handball (he rumored that he was going to file by the Athletic one of Madrid for his inferior categories) until the trainer of basketball of its school, Mariano Bartivas, put to him under a hoop...

.....
The Blazers paid attention to him and he played on 12-10-86, against the Chicago Bulls. However, his path was full of challenge and difficulties: the injuries harassed him and he missed friends, the Spanish food and climate. In addition, his coach, the young Mike Schuler, did not give many options to him to explode. His passage to the NBA is marked by 25 games, 147 minutes, 22 points, 28 rebounds, and 9 assists.
- Mayte Roman of Salamanca, Spain

...n.b. Acccording to Roman, Martin was ready to try out for an NBA team two years before he eventually made the league. In 1984, however, he suffered a car wreck the day before he was set to fly from Spain. That time, he walked away unhurt.

Fernandez First Foreigner as NBA Dunk Contestant

Oh, what a time for Firsts.
A couple of days before Barack Obama became the nation's first black president, Rudy Fernandez became the first non-US born player to participate in the NBA's dunk contest.
That's 90 players in 23 years (no contests in '98 or '99) since 1984, folks. It's not like foreigners can't dunk - here's ample evidence of the aerials arts being practiced in the Euroleague. And in the NBA, there have been a few foreigner players with the ability to open bomb bay doors over rims or do nasty things in the air (e.g. Mikeal Pietrus, Manu Ginobli, Nene, Sarunas Marciulionis (look at the number six here), but none of them - save Ginobili - were ever popular enough league-wide to be voted into the dunk contest. And while Ginobili is a nice dunker, he's more known for being an acrobatic lay-up maestro than a devil-possessed ball detonator.

Fernandez came into the league with a reputation for doing R-rated things to the rim and, so far, he hasn't disappointed. An extremely popular player in Spain (where he played with Ricky Rubio for DKV Joventut last year and was the national team's most explosive perimeter threat), the weed-thin Iberian has also generated a legion of American fans with this bouncy exploits.
And so when the final spot of the four-person dunk contest came down to fan voting, Fernandez got in on the strength of 500,000 strong.

And so, without further adieu, in honor of the wicked, wicked wonders Rudy works whilst in air, here's a sample of his finest dunkmanship:

From the AFP:

The 23-year-old guard was selected through an online vote by more than 500,000 fans at the league's website, putting Fernandez into the four-man event on February 14 at Phoenix, where the All-Star Game will be played the next day.

Fernandez will join defending dunk champion Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson and Memphis forward Rudy Gay. Robinson won the 2006 competition and Gay competed in last year's event.

This was the first time NBA fans had a chance to select a participant. Others in the event had been named by the league.

Fernandez received 251,868 votes with Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook next at 147,279 and Milwaukee's Joe Alexander third on 114,963 in a competition between NBA newcomers.

Fans will have the final say in the winner of the event by casting votes by text message or at the NBA website.

Houston v. Portland (an international player snapshot)

With all the hubbub surrounding Barack Obama's election to U.S. President and my following of the reactions worldwide (truly the proudest day I've experienced as an American!), I haven't had much time to blog this week.

Still, I was able to snack on a quarter of Thursday night's Houston - Portland game. Here's a snapshot of the international players' play in the first quarter:

11:50 Yao Ming has his shot emphatically blowed by Joel Pryzbilla, who's at least four inches shorter.

10:42 Argentinian power forward Luis Scola - whose continuing improvemnent in his second year I think will mean as much to the Rockets' title hopes as their acquisition of Ron Artest - cans a 20-footer off of a Ron-Ron dribble-drive. Houston looks nice.

10:16 Portland's Nick Batum, who's making his second start of the season, rattles out a straight-on three. Looks fluid though.

9:41 Scola takes a Rafer Alston-led fast break pass to the bank, and cashes it in for two off the backboard, avoiding Aldridge's out-stretched arms.

9:21 Batum, who played 18 minutes in his first start the night before, cans a 15-footer and trots backwards downcourt. Like butter.

9:12 Yao misses a hook shot over Pryzbilla. Joel can play some D.

8:28 Batum uses his speed to jet out in front of the pack, take a beautifully passed ball from Steve Blake, and delivers it unto the Rim for 2 points. Nice speed, Nicky B.

8:02 Scola pivots, shakes and bakes for a turn-around 2 from 10 feet out.

6:27 Despite tying up a guard on the defensive end, Yao misses another shot. Not a good night so far.

5:43 Yao finally scores, after grabbing a Scola, pirouetting in front of the rim, and laying it up.

3:20, Scola hits an 18-footer, and now has 8 of his team's 15 points on 4-5 shooting. Soon thereafter, immediately after entering the game, Portland's electric Spanish shot-maker Rudy Fernandez rattles out a trifecta. Hombre ain't shy, ya'll.

2:14 Rudy storms into the paint and zips a pass on Martell Webster, leading to 3.

:33 Yao misses yet another shot! A forgettable quarter for sure for the 7-5 center.

:1 Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy get mixed up defending Houston's inbound pass, leading to an Aaron Brooks three. Rudy looks back at Sergio before dashing towards Brooks in the corner, and shows remarkable closing speed in oh-so-almost blocking his shot. Had he only not looked back!

Score at quarter - Portland 21, Houston 18
Final Score - Portland 101, Houston 99

Courtesty of basketnea1


I have to add to tack this on, too. U.S. National team member LeBron James did a lil' jig last night when he saw big man Drew Gooden trying to guard him. It reminded me of footage of the good ol' loosey-goosey ABA days of the early 1970s, when players weren't afraid to put a little paprika in their game:

Courtesy of LOserNetw0rk:


(Hint: It's at 7 seconds)

Rudy Fernandez and Nick Batum Make NBA Debuts

Portland is officially one of my favorite teams. They're young, exciting and have two of the most exciting European players in the league - guard Rudy Fernandez and Nicholas Batum.
Here's a description of their first two NBA games:

Oct. 28 Portland vs. Los Angeles

1st Quarter
2-4, 4 points

• 3:50 Rudy's first shot, a three, was a clanger off the right of the rim.
• Later, he's thrown to floor by Derek Fisher, four inches shorter but much stronger, while going after the ball.
• 1:50: Flashes by Jordan Farmer just north of the free throw line and throws in a beautiful 10-foot running teardrop.
• 1:18:Fernandez curls around a Pryzabilla screen and drains a 16-foot swisher.
• 1:01: Bricks a 16-foot fadeaway over Gasol

2nd Quarter
1-1, 5 points

• 10:22 Portland guard Sergio Rodriguez attempts to lob an alley-oop to Fernandez over his Spanish teammate Gasol. But it falls short, and Odom picks it off.
• 9:50 He drains a three over the Slovenian Vujacic, accounting for 7 of Portland's 17 points.
• 6:16 He slices through the Lakers' defense like a Ginsu knife, gets fouled, and nets two.

Third Quarter
0-2, 0 points

• 2:02 With the Trailblazer down 46-69, and in dire need of a jolt, he misses a three.
• 1:20 Nice, quick jumping swing pass from Bayless to Roy, which turns into an assist for a three
• :27 Rudy shows some of his seven years of European experience by passing on an open 11-footer and passing back to Bayless for a three, which leads to a foul.
• :19 He clangs a 19-footer from the corner
• :02 Corrals a rebound, ending his worst quarter

Fourth Quarter
2-2, 7 points

• 11:03 He makes a technical foul shot after a technical foul on Lakers forward Ariza. Portland Coach McMillan obviously has confidence in him early in the season.
• 8:42 The most exciting sequence of the game: Ariza the Acrobat erases a Bayless lay-up, the Lakers advance the ball to mid-court, where Roy steals it, then dashes back, hits Rudy at the elbow and swish ... 3-ball!
• Roy's unselfishness is a good sign. He trusts Rudy already, and this will pay big dividends later in the season.
• 6:50 He claps for the ball to trigger a fast-break, receives it at mid-court, takes two dribbles and delivers a fine bounce-pass to Outlaw for a deuce
• 6:12 Fernandez steals an in-bounds and drills a triple from the same spot he'd hit from 2 1/2 minutes before. Somebody's suddenly lookin' seriously sharp...

Rudy finishes as Portland's best player in a 76-96 loss. He scores 16 points on 5-10 shooting, makes all 3 free throws, and gathers 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds in 29 minutes.
Despite talk that Batum would start, he doesn't enter the game until late, but makes his presence known in 4 minutes: 2 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal.

Courtesy of BRUNAMONTI




Three days later, Rudy and the Trailblazers (second-youngest team with an average of 23.9 years) took on the San Antonio Spurs (the the oldest team in the league with an average age of 29.9 years)

1st Quarter

• 2:28 When he enters the game, the crowd swells: "Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!"
• "Did you hear those chants," ESPN's color commentator Jon Barry asked. "I thought I was at Notre Dame!"
• 1:44 Portland swingman Nicholas Batum grabs an offensive rebound, tears down the sideline, goes airborne and unspools the ball to Aldridge for a dunk
• :01 Fernandez misses a three after a sick B-Roy crossover

2nd Quarter

• 11:47 WOW! 6-8 Batum meets 6-11 Duncan at the rim and swats his stuff seven ways to Sunday!
• Now that's the way to greet a hall-of-famer... afterward, it takes the crowd about 15 seconds to calm down.
• 11:05 Rudy snaps a three from the corner.
• 10:01 SWEET LORD Almighty! Batum takes the ball outside of the elbow, holds it like a hot pizza box, swoops through the lane, knocks it off the backboard, and delivers two with a silky-smooth lay-up.
• Replays show that as he released the ball, he barely looked up.
• 7:24 Batum strikes again, stealing the ball at mid-court, and streaking to the bucket for another sweet lay-up.
• Color commentator Jon Barry notes that there's "no timidness to this guy ... he playing so aggressive, he's in guys' faces, he tried to dunk on Tim Duncan earlier, he's taking the ball to the basket." A far cry from the Batum I saw last year.
• 7:01 Rudy skys over the Spur's Udoka to snag a defensive rebound, gets fouled, then hits 2 free throws.
• 5:32 Is this the greatest quarter of Batum's career so far? He drains a three and stands there, hand upraised in a follow-through, a la MJ in the 1992 NBA Finals versus, you guessed it, Portland. The 19-year old's got 8 points now..
• :06 Batum, 6-8 and 200 pounds, guards the Tony Parker, 6-1 and 180 pounds, and does a nice job - using his length to prevent his ultra-quick fellow Frenchman from scoring a lay-up.

Third Quarter

• 3:29 Once again, Batum scores off a fast-break lay-up employing what Jon Barry called the "euro two-step. You slow down, you let two players go by." Whatever it is, it's two points.
• 00:30 Thank you, fast-break dunk. You just gave Monsieur Batum a baker's dozen.

Fourth Quarter

• 10:40 Batum misses a wide-open straightaway three. Once he can nail those consistenly, he will be scary.
• 7:55 Parker scorches Batum on the perimeter and leaves a tasty 2-point treat for Duncan: Spurs now down by four, 80-84.
• 6:17 With Portland up 87-84, Rudy bricks a deep three off the front rim. You get the sneaky suspicion the veteran-laden Spurs, even without Ginobili, are going to tie it up soon.
• 4:23 With a Portland four-point lead and 19 seconds into the clock, Rudy fires up another brick from long. Not a good shot at all.

Blazers win 100-99.
Rudy only scores 6 points on 1-6 shooting, but corrals 8 rebounds and plays 30 minutes.
Batum, as you can see above, had a mighty impressive debut: 12 points on 5-9 shooting, 2 blocks, and a steal, assist, and rebound in 22 minutes. I think he should be able to contribute fast-break points all season long, but the question is: what else can he give you?

Courtesy of Wuithier:

What is the ACB and why is it "Ballerific"?

ACB means Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto or Associaton of Basketball Clubs. Pardon my French, but this Spanish league is considered the creme de la creme of all domestic basketball league outside of the NBA. Spanish fans are rabid about their basketball and club owners are willing to pay top dollar to attract talent to the peninsula. This league is a lot less cookie-cutter than its logo would have you believe!

For one, the color of the Spanish people absolutely pops off the league's English-language website. Go here and look at the graphic in the middle of the page by the words "El Crack." Hardly niño friendly, eh?

For two, this audaciously fun league also happens to be home to Ricky Rubio, the best young talent in Europe.

His team - DKV Joventut - is a based in Badolona, Spain, a suburb of Barcelona in the northeast of Spain.


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The 78-year old team is one of only three in the ACB to have never been demoted to a lesser domestic league and will this year place its chances for success in the hands of young Rubio.

Star Rudy Fernandez, Rubio's backcourt mate from last year, and the man who almost buried America's chances for Olympic gold in a torrent of threes, has left for the Portland Trailblazers.