After a season playing very little, bells are ringing for change in the career of Willy Hernangómez (Madrid, 1994). With the dream of winning a Euroleague in the future, his bet continues to be the NBA. While he awaits offers, the MVP of the last Eurobasket is a regular in Barcelona, ​​where his girlfriend lives and where he attends to La Vanguardia at the gates of the zoo.
He has not had his best season…
It has been a long and hard year. We have not met our collective goals and, on a personal level, it has been frustrating.
Has it been bad?
I have tried to be positive and continue training to show that I could play more, but it has not been possible. These are things that are already in the past now and I have to look to the future.
Already in February there were many rumors about his possible departure from the New Orleans Pelicans…
The truth is that I thought I was going to leave but the franchise decided to continue counting on me. I have told them that I want to play and I want to contribute. I’ve been in New Orleans for three years and I feel very comfortable, but I want to compete for titles and show that I can be a decisive center in the league. If they offer me that possibility, I will be delighted to continue, but if nothing is going to change, a solution will have to be found.
Do you rule out returning to Europe?
I am focused on the NBA and my dream is still to fight for a ring and show that I can play in that league.
It has come to be published that he could return to Real Madrid…
They are just rumors. My dream is still to fight to compete for a ring, although I have always said that I have never won a Euroleague and I would love to win it, wherever it is, but right now it does not cross my mind.
He dreams of winning the Euroleague with Real Madrid… or with another team.
I don’t close any doors. Obviously I would like to return to Madrid because it is my home, but what I want is to win and if I have a better offer and project from another team I will not reject it.
He has played few minutes this season but he has used them well.
Yes, but in the NBA everything is very complicated once the rotations are decided. It doesn’t matter if you play well or badly, they won’t give you more minutes. You have to hope that there is some suspension due to fouls or an injury, then something can change. But it’s something that this course hasn’t happened in New Orleans. Whatever I did, training or playing, I already knew that I was not going to change my situation.
Are you frustrated?
I try to park negative thoughts like frustration or injustice. I think about what I can improve as motivation. If I do everything possible to improve and nothing changes, I haven’t done enough, that’s the way I think.
Are there as many differences as it seems between the NBA and European basketball?
They have nothing to do with it. It is as if instead of an ocean there was a screen.
Will have to explain better…
The NBA is the most watched but the most talented and fun game is still the one in Europe. The main difference between the two lies in the physical. Luckily I enjoy both, I am privileged, the NBA during the year and FIBA ​​basketball in the summer.
The selection never fails you….
It’s the most fun of the year. I don’t think I’ve missed a summer since 2014.
His face lights up.
I am very grateful for the affection that people transmit to me on the street, it makes me more excited.
Could you see the final four?
Of course, I was at home watching it… and there was even a bite.
Nothing serious, I hope…
My girlfriend is from Barça and I am from Madrid, so there is usually a lot of anger. Nothing serious! I want to congratulate Real Madrid fans and friends like Llull, Rudy and Sergio RodrÃguez because they deserve it.
What is the secret of the eternal youth of these three cracks?
They have a unique competitive gene, winning DNA, and incredible grit. They do not lose hope even if they are behind on the scoreboard, it is what sets them apart, they have done it all their lives.
Is it something you notice in a locker room?
Completely. They have a special aura. I already knew at home that it was Llull’s time, even though he had 0 points, and that Chacho has been hitting those three-pointers all his life and Rudy defending like that even though his back hurts. All boys and girls who play basketball have to learn to leave their skin in what they do.
In his family almost everyone plays basketball, perhaps he would have been disinherited if he had not dedicated himself to the basket.
(laughs) Basketball is the least talked about at home, contrary to what many people think. We talk a lot about economics and investments. If I hadn’t been a basketball player I would have been a teacher, I like to teach. But not only instill knowledge, but also values ​​such as respect or sportsmanship.
Have you closed that door all the way?
In addition to Teaching, I started a higher degree in management of sports entities but I had to leave it. I continue contemplating recovering those studies because I do not close the door of education at all. Cultivating the mind is something very positive.
