The golden era of the Spanish national team and the long decade of Real Madrid’s dominance would not be understood without Rudy Fernández. He is the player with the most games for Spain (266), the most medals won (11, tied with Pau Gasol), and the most golds around his neck (6, equaling the entire national team’s history). And right after his signing, Madrid played a EuroLeague final nearly 20 years later—the first of seven for him, with three continental titles. That teenager who burst onto the scene like a supernova at Joventut more than two decades ago now rightfully enters the Spanish Basketball Hall of Fame.
After more than two decades in basketball, how are you handling being away from the court?
Actually, pretty well. I keep working on business ventures I’ve had, on the business and advertising side. Keeps me busy, but also calm—the calm I needed to be with my family. I have an eight-month-old baby, and I wanted to do a lot more of what I couldn’t do before.
Everyone knows your sister, and your parents were also basketball players. How decisive was having that family for your professional future?
Especially my father—and I’m seeing this now as a parent—he just wanted me to play sports. To get out of the house and play. But my parents never pushed basketball on me. On the contrary, they gave me all the freedom to make a decision. It’s true that at first I started playing soccer because many of my friends played it during recess before basketball. But watching my sister play, having seen my parents, and some friends who later started playing basketball, eventually I jumped in too. And then people started to see I had a natural talent, and I took that path.
Several Joventut players, including Rudy, celebrate the 2008 Copa del Rey title. PAULINO ORIBE
You moved to Badalona alone as a child. How did you handle that?
Well, you can imagine… At 12 or 13, making that decision was tough. But I was pretty clear about it, especially after seeing my sister go to Siglo XXI. I always knew that if I dedicated myself to basketball, I would give my full effort to reach the top. Those first years without my parents, without my lifelong friends, were very hard. The club, in terms of teammates and the youth system, helped me enormously adapt. I also had the luck of having a lot of Catalan family, so I could escape to spend time with them. In the end, things turned out well.
Manel Comas gave you your debut, and Aíto García-Reneses handed you the keys to the team. What was it like having those two basketball personalities in charge when you were just a teenager?
Manel was a very veteran coach, very clear about things. He made me debut at just 16 in a game we were losing against Real Madrid. But I remember he always pushed me to be who I wanted to be. His coaching style was different from Aíto’s. He trusted more in veterans, and you realized it was hard to debut at 16. Aíto gave me all the tools to be the leader player he was looking for at Joventut. At 18, he gave me total freedom. He was very methodical, very clear. At that age, the most important thing is confidence, and he gave it to me. And I delivered.
He finished his first season as the team’s standout player and went straight to play in the Olympics.
