On draft night, the Denver Nuggets added a little more international flavor to the team. With the No. 15 pick in the draft, Denver selected sharpshooting forward Juancho Hernangomez.
The 6’9” forward from Spain is known as a lengthy, versatile player who can stretch the floor with his range. Hernangomez shot 35.8% from three and averaged 9.8 points and 3.7 rebounds over 24 games for Movistar Estudiantes, a team in the Spanish ACB League. He also led Spain in scoring (14.2 points) and rebounding (8.5 rebounds) at the 2015 U20 European Championships.
Hernangomez participated in a pre-draft workout with the Nuggets in early June and at the time, he was excited about the possibility of joining the team.
“The Nuggets are a fantastic franchise,” Hernangomez said. “It’s been a great experience but if Denver drafts me, I’ll be a great teammate and do everything I can to improve this team.”
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly spoke highly of the Spanish forward’s skill set.
“This was a guy we had targeted. He is a modern day 3 or 4,” Connelly told Nuggets.com. “He has big-time basketball IQ.”
After the draft, Hernangomez was just happy the waiting was finally over.
”I’m really excited. I don’t know if I want to cry or jump and scream,” Hernangomez said with a big smile. “It’s impossible to describe [how I feel with words].
“Thank you for drafting me. I’m really excited to start playing for Denver.”
Take a look behind-the-scenes as Juan Hernangomez name is called at the 15th pick during the 2016 NBA Draft!