By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid star guard Facu Campazzo had perhaps never seen his name being dropped in NBA transfer rumors and reports as often as recently. Eurohoops has confirmed that three NBA teams have shown a strong interest in the Argentinian playmaker who has emerged as one of the very elite guards in EuroLeague in recent years.
According to Argentina coach Jorge Hernandez, Campazzo had already had opportunities to join an NBA team, but only as an inferior option from the bench. Something that isn’t exactly fulfilling for such an action-hankering baller.
“Campazzo is a player who needs action and needs to play. Maybe next season, some NBA team will move to sign him, but until now the option he had to go to the NBA was that of a “filler” and third point guard,” Hernandez said to Radio Marca.
Hernandez coached Campazzo in numerous international tournaments, most recently in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Campazzo averaged 13.3 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 29.2 minutes as his national team won the silver medal. He had one of his top games (18 points, 12 assists, six rebounds) against a star-laden and gold medal favorite Serbia in the quarterfinals.
Campazzo, who turned 29 years old in March, has been rising to prominence in EuroLeague since he returned to Real Madrid in 2017 following a two-year loan to UCAM Murcia. Since then, he established himself as one of the team’s leaders, apart from a floor-general who displayed a gorgeous playmaking style that is both substantial and valuable as is eye-catching and highlight-packed.
In 2019, Campazzo was named MVP of the Spanish League Finals. Prior to this season’s suspension, Campazzo won MVP in two different tournaments: The Spanish Supercup and the Copa del Rey, after leading the “Blancos” to another pair of silverware.
One could say that Campazzo has been building a compelling argument to be considered as something more than a tertiary selection by NBA teams. Hernandez certainly believes that this is the case and that his player will make the jump to the NBA.
“Now the option to go to the NBA is going to be presented and Facundo is going to take advantage of it because he has broken all the barriers that have been put in front of him and will also break them in the NBA,” Hernandez said.