Fernando Martín Espina

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Olympic medal record
Men’s Basketball
Silver	Los Angeles 1984	Team Competition

Fernando Martín Espina (15 March 1962 in Madrid — 3 December 1989 in Madrid) is considered one of the best Spanish basketball players ever. He was 2,05 m tall, and used to play as center. He was considered a talented, courageous and naturally complete athlete, not devoid of skills. He was a five time swimming champion in Casti.Fernando martin also had a high rank in handball tabletennis and judo.

He played in Portland Trail Blazers and, earlier, in Spain in Estudiantes and Real Madrid. He was the first Spanish player to play in NBA, in 1986, and one of the first Europeans to play in this league. He played in only 24 games in the 1986-87 season for the Blazers, having been injured for two months. At the end of the season, he returned to Spain to play again for Real Madrid.

He also played for the Spanish national team. He was a prominent player in the Spanish team that won the Silver medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games of 1984.

He died in a car accident: He crashed his own car, a limited edition Lancia Thema with Ferrari engine. This caused an enormous shock in Spanish basketball. He used number 10 on his shirt; Real Madrid has not used that number since then.

His son, Jan Martin, made a start in the Spanish pro league ACB in Estudiantes in the season 2004-2005 and has also played for the Spanish national junior team.