Fernando Martín

Fernando Martín
Player information
Full name	Fernando Martín Espina
birthday	March 15, 1962
place of birth	Madrid , Spain
date of death	December 3, 1989 (aged 27 years and 263 days)
Place of death	Madrid , Spain
size	2.05 m
position	center
NBA draft	1985 (38th, New Jersey Nets )
Clubs as active
1979–1981 Club Baloncesto Estudiantes 1981–1986 Real Madrid 1986–1987 Portland Trail Blazers 1987–1989 Real Madrid
National team 1
1981-1986	Spain	86
1 As of October 4, 2007

Fernando Martín Espina (born March 15, 1962 in Madrid , † December 3, 1989 in Madrid) was a Spanish basketball player . He completed his career with Estudiantes , Real Madrid , the Portland Trail Blazers and the Spanish national team. He was the first in his country and the second European to make the leap into the NBA , and is still considered by many to be one of the best Spanish basketball players of all time. He was eight feet tall and played as a center .

At the beginning of 2008, Fernando Martin Espina was one of a group of 105 basketball players who were nominated by the Euroleague basketball and / or those interested in basketball to determine fifty important figures in the sport of basketball in Europe , active in the period 1958 to 2008 and subsequently in May 2008 Honoring Madrid ( Spain ). All nominated players played a particularly prominent role in the European Cup competitions of FIBA Europe and the Euroleague basketball and were each among the particularly prominent "stars" of their national league teams.

Career

Fernando Martín began his career in 1979 in the Estudiantes junior categories. After successes such as the Spanish Junior Championship and the silver medal at the European Youth Championship, he moved to the first squad after only one year. Here he immediately rose to one of the discoveries of the 1980/81 season and moved to city rivals Real Madrid after the league was over . With these he won four championship titles (1982, 1984, 1985 and 1986), two cup wins (1985, 1986), a European Cup Winners' Cup (1989), a Korać Cup (1988) and a Club World Cup (1981).

NBA

In 1985 Fernando Martín was the second European ever to be drafted by an NBA team. The Spaniard turned down the offer from the New Jersey Nets , and it wasn't until 1986 when he made the leap into the American professional league. At the Portland Trail Blazers , however, he was only able to play 24 games due to numerous injuries, and so he returned to Real Madrid in 1987 .

National team

Between 1981 and 1986 Fernando Martín played a total of 86 games for the Spanish national team. He was one of the pillars of the Vice European Championship in 1983 and of winning the silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics .

Tragic death

Fernando Martín died on December 3, 1989, at the age of 27, of a car accident while attending a match between his team and CAI Zaragoza . No other player in Real Madrid's squad has worn the number 10 jersey since his death. Only his son Jan Martín was allowed to wear it again.

In 2007 he was posthumously inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame as one of the first players . The multi-purpose hall in Fuenlabrada , the venue of the Baloncesto Fuenlabrada , is called Polideportivo Fernando Martín .

successes

• Spanish championship titles (1982, 1984, 1985 and 1986)
• Copa del Rey (1985, 1986)
• European Cup Winners' Cup (1989)
• Korać Cup (1988)
• Club World Championship (1981)
• Olympic silver (1984)

Individual evidence

1. ^ NN: The All-Time Player Nominees. ( Memento of January 2, 2015 on the Internet Archive ) Archived from EuroLeague website; Barcelona, ​​January 2, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2019.