Usman Garuba in Spain jersey
The Real Madrid alumnus has just started his NBA journey with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the 2021 off-season, Thunder rewarded the forward with a $11 million rookie contract deal that will last up to four years. He is grooming well under the coach Sergio Scariolo who has sent the center to perform in crucial and difficult circumstances, making him familiar with the pressure handling thing. In the 2022 EuroBasket championship where the team has snagged the gold medal, Usman has averaged 4.7ppg and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Usman has just started his professional basketball journey, therefore needs to work on certain areas like his game reading skills, shooting proficiency, and other domains.
Usman Garuba, Team Spain
Usman donned the country uniform at an early age at the age of 14, he was the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 U16 FIBA European championship and thus assisted the team to win the gold medal. He again showed up in the 2019 U18 FIBA European championship and led the team to win another gold in the under-18 class, he averaged 15.6 ppg. This was his third major tournament appearance in the last four years.
Till now, the center has played only one tournament with the Senior national team of Spain, which was in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
During the tune-up matches for the upcoming FIBA World Cup for Spain, the center has got only limited minutes on the court. Till now the team has faced Slovenia and Venezuela, and emerged victorious in both matches. He was coming off the bench, and later in the match against Slovenia, he was dropped due to an ankle injury.
Team Spain is loaded with the experience of Alberto Abalde and brothers Willy and Juancho Hernangomez, so it will be difficult for the center to make a place in the starter in the FIBA World Cup. The team is placed in Group G alongside Iran, Brazil, and Ivory Coast. On 26 August Spain will play their first inaugural match against Ivory Coast in Jakarta, Indonesia.
FAQs
A. The Spanish player is listed at 6 feet 8 inches or 2.03m tall and weighs around 230 lb or 104 kg.
A. Usman Garuba is an Oklahoma City Thunder player who plays at the position of Center or Power forward, depending upon what the situation demands.
A. Last season, the Center appeared in 75 games and started in only one game, and with an average playing time of 13 minutes, he averaged 3.0 ppg and 4.1 rebounds per game.
A. The Spanish Center is the 2021 draft for the Houston Rockets. He was a first-round pick for the team.
A. The 6 ‘8’’ center has an impressive wingspan of 7 feet 2 inches. This helps him to cover the floor with ease and dunk the ball just using his standing vertical.
