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Juancho Hernangomez makes Panathinaikos even more unpredictable

Juancho Hernangomez makes Panathinaikos even more unpredictable

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28 июля 20234 Минутное чтение

Javier Gancedo

Editorial Senior Manager

New Panathinaikos Athens forward Juancho Hernangomez in action for Spain.

Panathinaikos Athens pulled another rabbit out of the hat in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's off-season market, inking forward Juancho Hernangomez to a two-year deal. Hernangomez, 27, joins the Greens right in the prime of his career as he goes in search of the playing time he always had with the Spanish national team but never really got in the NBA.

Indeed, Hernangomez has been sensational in national team tournaments lately, leading Spain to respective gold medals at the 2019 World Cup and EuroBasket 2022. In 2019, Hernangomez averaged 10.5 points on 44.0% three-pointers and 5.4 rebounds, doing a little bit of everything to make sure La Roja came back home victorious. In 2022, he earned the EuroBasket Final MVP award after scoring a game-high 27 points, hitting 7-of-9 three-pointers, in an 88-76 win against France.

Just what Coach Ataman wanted

Panathinaikos fans can expect many different things from Hernangomez, as his versatility is one of his main skills. New Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman always relied on stretch power forwards, mainly Adrien Moerman and Chris Singleton, when he coached Anadolu Efes Istanbul to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022. It has been a pattern for Coach Ataman throughout his coaching career; stretch power forwards like Derrick Brown, Zoran Erceg, Bostjan Nachbar, David Blu and Michalis Kakiouzis all played under the Turkish tactician at one time or another.

Hernangomez fills that role and then some. He can pull the trigger from downtown but also guard smaller opponents due to his size and quickness. He helps on the boards and is aggressive on both ends of the floor, too. By also adding Ioannis Papapetrou, Coach Ataman has two players with high basketball IQ who are able to deliver at each forward spot, looking for advantages on offense and capitalizing on them.

The only question mark over Hernangomez could be his lack of EuroLeague experience as he will be a newcomer in the competition, but given his all-around performances with the Spanish national team against EuroLeague stars, his adjustment should not be an issue.

Helping the stars of the future

With two young, talented players with star potential like Neoklis Avdalas and Eleftherios Mantzoukas currently on the books at Panathinaikos, Hernangomez also has the chance to play the role of mentor for maybe the first time in his career.

Hernangomez could be a great influence on Mantzoukas, who has a similar physical frame and, at age 20, is ready to play a bigger role. After seeing limited playing time in the BKT EuroCup with Promitheas Patras and in the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos, Mantzoukas is at risk of being labelled as just a three-point shooter. Hernangomez should lead by example as he can do a lot more than just pull the trigger from downtown, so it will be important for him to encourage Mantzoukas to follow his footsteps.

Bo Cruz and Willy

Off the court, Hernangomez played a stellar role in the Netflix film "Hustle". He was the film's co-star along with Adam Sandler, playing the role of an unknown basketball player called Bo Cruz. At some point during the movie, Cruz meets the Spanish national team and shakes hands with Willy Hernangomez, his real-life brother, who signed a multi-year deal with FC Barcelona earlier this summer.

Both Hernangomez brothers have had similar careers lately, going through multiple NBA teams but then shining with Spain. Willy earned EuroBasket 2022 MVP honors after leading La Roja to the gold medal.

For all EuroLeague fans, one date to circle in the calendar is Friday, November 3, as the Hernangomez brothers cross paths in the EuroLeague for the first time when the Greens visit Barcelona's Palau Blaugrana in Round 6.