By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After helping Spain win the 2022 EuroBasket while being named tournament MVP, big man Willy Hernangomez wants to see his New Orleans Pelicans carrying the same values that pushed his national team to the gold medal.
“One player can be super talented but needs a team around him who can help and know their role,” Hernangomez said during the Pelicans‘ Media Day. “I was telling the guys that we aren’t the most talented or strongest guys but we are the best unit. We have the best chemistry, the best locker room chemistry. That’s the key. The winning teams, they have that. They have that DNA. That’s what I want to have with the Pelicans from the beginning. ”
“We have a super talented team and a super great locker room as well, Hernangomez added. “And that mix can be super dangerous because that it can be really hard to stop.” The Pelicans can set some high goals for the next season with the return of Zion Williamson which compliments the existing roster featuring CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, Devonte Graham and Hernangomez, among others.
Willy explained what makes this gold medal unique and how the entire EuroBasket experience helped him ahead of this new NBA season.
“It was too many people not believing in us,” Hernangomez said. “Because we didn’t have all those people, Pau and Marc Gasol, Navarro, Felipe. But something inside of us in Spain is that we compete against everybody. It’s really special. We weren’t afraid of any team. Follow the game plan. It was perfect. We did what we needed to do. We became European champions again.”
“For me, of all the medals from the national team, this one is the most valuable. The way we grew through the tournament. The way we competed without being afraid of anybody. For me especially, to be able to be one of the leaders of the team and play a lot of minutes without any restrictions was amazing. Because I really enjoyed playing basketball. And I really saw the work that everybody’s putting on.”
“It gave me confidence. I trust in the work that I have been doing these last couple of years. And I’m going to keep growing and try to play basketball.”