Navarro with FC Barcelona. |
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| Nickname(s) | La Bomba (The Bomb)[1] |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Height | 6 ft 3.75 in (1.92 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| League | Spanish ACB League Euroleague |
| Team | FC Barcelona |
| Born | June 13, 1980 Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Draft | 2nd round, 40th overall, 2002 Washington Wizards |
| Pro career | 1997–present |
| Career history | FC Barcelona (1997–2007) Memphis Grizzlies (2007–08) FC Barcelona (2008–) |
| Awards | FIBA Under-19 World Championship MVP 1999 Catalan Tournament Final MVP 2001 5x All-Euroleague First Team: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 Spanish League MVP 2006 NBA All-Rookie Second Team 2008 Euroleague MVP 2009 2x Spanish League Finals MVP 2009, 2011 3x Spanish Supercup MVP 2009, 2010, 2011 Euroleague 2001–10 All-Decade Team Euroleague Final Four MVP 2010 European Player of the Year Mr. Europa 2010 FIBA European Championship MVP 2011 |
Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo (born June 13, 1980, in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona), nicknamed "La Bomba" (The Bomb), is a Spanish professional basketball player. The 1.92 m (6 ft 3 3⁄4 in) and 91 kg (200 lb) point guard–shooting guard currently plays with FC Barcelona in Liga ACB and the Euroleague and is the captain of the Spanish National Basketball Team.
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Navarro started playing for FC Barcelona when he was a teenager, making his Spanish ACB League debut on November 23, 1997, at the age of 17. That year he was selected to attend the Nike Hoop Summit, but he finally stayed in Europe playing for the Barcelona pro team. That was also the reason why he was not on the Spanish national team that won the AST tournament in Mannheim in 1998.
With the acquisitions of Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fučka in 2003, FC Barcelona won all the competitions they played in that year. It was a great year for the team. It was the first time the club won the Euroleague. By winning the Spanish ACB League, the Spanish King's Cup, and the Euroleague 2002–03 all in the same year, Barcelona won the coveted Triple Crown championship that year.
With Barcelona, Navarro has won the ACB championship 5 times, in the years 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2009. He has also won with Barcelona the Spanish King's Cup championship 4 times, in the years 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, the Spanish Supercup championship in 2007 and 2010, the Korać Cup championship in 1999, and the Euroleague 2002–03 championship. Navarro also helped to lead Barcelona to the Euroleague 2005–06 Final Four, where his team lost to CSKA Moscow in the semifinal game. Navarro's great Euroleague performances earned him selections to the All-Euroleague First Team for both the Euroleague 2005–06 and Euroleague 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, Juan Carlos Navarro earned the regular season Most Valuable Player award of the ACB. He played with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA for one season, in 2007–08, but he signed with FC Barcelona again, in the summer of 2008, on a 5-year €12.5 million euros net income contract with a €10 million euros buyout.[2] He was named the Euroleague MVP in 2009.
Playing for FC Barcelona with stars like Aleksandar Đorđević, Artūras Karnišovas, Rony Seikaly, Pau Gasol and Šarūnas Jasikevičius helped to make Navarro a better player and he managed to earn a status as one of the most promising young European players early on in his career with Barcelona. All NBA mock drafts started to set him as a sure first round pick.
However, in the 2001–02 season, Navarro had several problems with injuries and therefore he did not have a good season. Nobody seemed to see him as a 1st round pick in the 2002 NBA Draft because of this, and ultimately the Washington Wizards drafted Navarro in the second round (40th pick overall). Nevertheless, he preferred to stay with FC Barcelona after being drafted into the NBA.
On August 3, 2007, the Washington Wizards traded the draft rights of Juan Carlos Navarro to the Memphis Grizzlies, in exchange for a future first-round draft pick. Navarro would be reunited with former FC Barcelona and Spanish national teammate Pau Gasol.[3]
Although initially there were a lot of doubts about Juan Carlos Navarro's ability to perform in the NBA, in his rookie NBA season, he proved to be an important member of the Memphis Grizzlies, being one of the team leaders in three-point shooting (.361), and providing solid numbers when starting and coming off the bench. He was named to the 2007–08 NBA All-Rookie Second Team, after averaging 10.9 points per game. On June 18, 2008, Navarro officially signed a five-year deal worth €12.5 million euros net income with Barcelona[4], reuniting with his old Spanish team prior to his arrival in the NBA.
A qualifying contract offer that was tendered to Navarro by the Memphis Grizzlies in order that he could return to his NBA team was eventually rescinded on September 10, 2009. This was done so the Grizzlies could sign former all-star Allen Iverson.[5]
In the summer of 1998, Navarro was a member of the Spanish junior national team that won the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. While on the Spanish junior national team roster, he was one of "The Golden Generation" boys of Spain (along with Pau Gasol, a current Los Angeles Lakers' player, and Raúl López, a former Utah Jazz player) that beat the United States' junior national team at the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. Navarro was named the MVP of the tournament final and he was also selected as a member of the All-Tournament Team.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Spain | ||
| Men's Basketball | ||
| Summer Olympics | ||
| Silver | 2008 Beijing | National Team |
| FIBA World Championship | ||
| Gold | 2006 Japan | National Team |
| FIBA European Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2001 Turkey | National Team |
| Silver | 2003 Sweden | National Team |
| Silver | 2007 Spain | National Team |
| Gold | 2009 Poland | National Team |
| Gold | 2011 Lithuania | National Team |
Navarro played with the senior Spanish national team at the 2000 Olympic Basketball Tournament in Sydney. He also played at the 2001 FIBA European Championship, where he gave an awesome performance, winning two games during the tournament with buzzer beaters. He scored 27 points during the bronze medal game against Germany.
Navarro also won with the Spanish national team, the silver medal in Sweden at the 2003 FIBA European Championship. Navarro however, did not play well at the 2004 Olympic Basketball Tournament. Although, he did score 18 points in Spain's loss against Team USA. Spain managed only a 7th place finish in the tournament.
At the 2005 FIBA European Championship, the Spanish team only managed a 4th place finish. Navarro was the 2nd leading scorer of the tournament with an average of 25.2 points per game, finishing behind only Dirk Nowitzki in scoring average. Spain played the tournament without Pau Gasol, and Navarro lead Spain to a good finish considering this.
In August 2006, he won the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship with the Spanish national team. In September 2007, Navarro and Spain lost against Russia in the gold medal game at the 2007 FIBA European Championship, held in Madrid, on Spain's home floor. Navarro was also a member of the Spanish national team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament. Navarro scored 18 points in the gold medal game that Spain lost against Team USA.
Defending champions Spain retained their European crown at Eurobasket 2011. Navarro led his team with a game-high 27 points in the championship game over France. He received the EuroBasket 2011 MVP award and also earned All Tournament Team accolades with his teammate Pau Gasol.[6][7]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pau Gasol |
Mr. Europa 2010 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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