The Career of Juancho Hernangómez, Protagonist of “Hustle”

The professional basketball player Juancho Hernangómez has starred in one of the most anticipated and best-received films so far in 2022. Starring both the forward and Adam Sandler, who also serves as producer of the feature film alongside LeBron James, "Hustle" (Netflix exclusive) has been recognized as one of the best basketball movies.

Basketball in the Blood

Juan Alberto Hernangómez, better known as Juancho, was born in Madrid on September 28, 1995, the son of two former basketball players recognized in Spain. His mother, Margarita Geuer, was champion with the Spanish Eurobasket team in 1993; and his father, Guillermo, was also an international for Spain in lower categories and became part of the ranks of Real Madrid.

Juancho is a year younger than his brother, Willy, who has also succeeded in basketball, currently a player for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA. Although both brothers have succeeded in basketball, they played soccer from an early age and excelled at it as well. But, as they grew older they discovered their innate talent for scoring balls with their hands. Both Willy and Juancho began to practice at the Las Rozas Basketball Club, quickly drawing the attention of Real Madrid, eventually making it onto the club's roster. However, Willy was the favorite of the Madrid institution, ruling out Juancho, who ended up in the ranks of Club Majadahonda, a team where he stood out with impressive figures that were slowed down by a knee injury that prevented him from joining the U-17 team. .

It was his transfer to Estudiantes de Madrid that earned him the chance to break out in the Endesa League. His work with said team allowed him a place at the international level in lower categories. He reached a boiling point in the 2015-2016 season when he won the award for the best young player in the league over Luka Doncic. At the end of 2016, Hernangómez made the jump to the NBA after being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the draft, a year after his brother Willy did, who was called up by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Dream career

After his arrival at the best basketball in the world, Juancho has gone through various ups and downs, but he has been remembered for many brilliant moments where he has caused headaches for elite players such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James. He reached his best point quota against the Warriors in 2017, a team that was runner-up in the league at the time and had one of the best rosters at the time. However, his progress was slowed in the NBA by mononucleosis that kept him off the courts in his second year as a professional. His return allowed him a reinvention where he improved his work as a long-distance shooter and reinforced him as a threat in the paint, two qualities that made him stand out in Spain, but he ended up fine-tuning after arriving in the United States and recovering from illness.

In 2019 he was world champion in the World Cup played in China along with a golden generation of players. He arrived with muscle discomfort after surgery, but this did not prevent him from excelling in the group stage match against the Italian team, being named the best player of the game. In 2020 he completed his transfer to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team with which he would play for only one year and which prevented him from participating with the team in the Tokyo Olympics to avoid a latent shoulder injury. Hernangómez had a brief stint with the Boston Celtics, with the San Antonio Spurs and is currently part of the Utah Jazz, a club with a lot of projection with young players with high potential in the league.

Parallels to the movie

Although the film is not exactly an autobiography of Juancho Hernangómez, it recounts some of the problems that usually stop the rise of very talented players who do not make it to the NBA. "Hustle" recounts the abrupt journey of Bo Cruz, played by Juancho, to reach the NBA assisted by Adam Sandler who discovers him and offers him the opportunity, but not before guiding him through the journey to become a star, leaving aside the difficulties and standing up to the naysayers he meets along the way.