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Rudy Fernández will be retired at the end of the 2023-24 season, 39 years old and one of the best basketball players in the history of Spain. The journey in youththe club in which he grew up, and in the Real Madridwhere he reached the top of European basketball, are more than enough arguments for this consideration, but his years in the NBA They also serve as a powerful argument to elevate a trajectory, that of Rudywhich could have finished much higher if it weren’t for a assault of Trevor Arizawhich ended up limiting him in his basketball career in USA.
The conditions of Rudy Fernández They predicted a great career for him NBAdespite the fact that due to position, their work was if possible more complicated than that of the Pau GasolMarc Gasol – with whom he shared a draft generation – or even Ricky Rubio. In North American basketball, the guard must be very powerful physically, even more than Rudy who made a difference with his jumps in Europabut that in USA He would also have to draw on an intelligence that always distinguished him as a player.
Despite the physique, somewhat weak for the NBA in the guard and forward positions, Rudy Fernández managed to find a place in the rotation of the Portland Trail Blazersone of the most fun teams to watch in the League and in which they formed a deadly partnership in the second unit along with Sergio Rodriguez. The alley-oops between Chacho and Rudy delighted the League in the highlights, to the point of leading Fernández to participate in the 2009 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contestwhere his score was not in line with the originality of his attempts.
In one way or another and also highlighting here his role as a triple shooter, Rudy a gap was being made in the NBA, where he was increasingly seen as a future important player, as long as he increased his muscle mass and found a place where he would be given the alternative as a starter. However, everything would change for the current player of the Real Madrid he March 10, 2009a year and a half after his NBA debut.
Ariza’s aggression ‘killed’ Rudy Fernández’s back
They played their regular phase match of the NBA los Portland Trail Blazersat home, in front of Los Angeles Lakers of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, and the third quarter won with a clear victory for the team Rudy Fernándezwho in those moments had 11 pointsagainst those who would ultimately be champions that year.
In a counterattack that Rudy aimed to smash without opposition in the rival basket, the Lakers forward, Trevor Arizadecided to pay his frustration for the partial defeat to the point of hitting the head of Fernández in full jump. The fall of the Spanish player was important, hitting a back that would be chronically damaged by a wild and unnecessary foul.
This is the action I’m talking about by Trevor Ariza on Rudy Fernández… An ugly action that cost him regularity at the time… 😢
I’m curious what Rudy would have been without this injury, the same as knowing if Raúl López would end up being an important piece in the Utah Jazz… 🤔 pic.twitter.com/QNILcNMDQO
— NBA Third Team (@NBATercerEquipo) April 4, 2020
The consequences of Rudy’s fall and injury
Rudy set off the alarms, lying for 10 minutes in which the drama infected those present in the stadium of the Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, his teammates, with the team’s star Brandon Roy at the head, they pounced on Arizacausing a brawl that had been caused by the aggression of the forward of the Lakers.
Fernández He was finally evacuated on a stretcher, with his neck immobilized and under a loud ovation from the stands, but the damage caused him back problems that, first, led him to limit his impact on the NBAwhere the physical is paramount, and later, back to Spainthey also forced him to stop on more than one occasion during the seasons in which he became one of the leaders of the Real Madrid. In the white set, to which he returned in 2012 after a short previous stage, Rudy will complete a magical journey in 2024 in which he was, despite his back, several times champion of League and Cup y triple European champion.
2024-04-04 15:22:21
#savage #aggression #ended #Rudy #Fernándezs #NBA #career #aiming #star
