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20 Best Hispanic Basketball Players of All Time

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Latin America, directly behind association football. With the introduction of the sport in the region, Hispanic basketball players have had a fundamental impact in developing and evolving the sport. Possessing exquisite skills, agility and styles in the game, they drive inspiration to fans and the future generation of players. These players have achieved so many accolades going on to earn admiration from their peers in the game and the fans alike. 

Playing for prestigious clubs is nothing new for these players, as the majority of them are only recruited to compete at top-level clubs and leagues. Most have made it to the prestigious NBA league. They have won championships, All-Star selections, and MVP awards during their professional sports careers.

To make a name for themselves, they had to make a lot of sacrifices and overcome adversities. Their accomplishments along the way have helped them make a positive impact both on and off the court. Let us look at 20 of the best Hispanic basketball players whose legacy will serve as a beacon for future generations of basketball players.

1. Willy Hernangomez

Willy Hernangomez of the Knicks at Wizards photo by Keith Allison –

Spanish professional basketball player Willy Guillermo Hernangómez plays for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. He plays at the centre and is 6 feet 11 inches tall. He has also played basketball for the senior Spanish national team. He competed for Spain’s senior national team at the 2016 Summer Olympics and at the EuroBasket 2015, where he won a bronze medal.

He also played at the EuroBasket 2017, where he won a bronze medal. He also took home a gold medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Hernangómez and Spain unexpectedly took home the gold medal at EuroBasket 2022 after defeating France in the championship game. He finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

2. Al Horford

Al Horford of the Boston Celtics, 2017. photo by Keith Allison –

Al Horford is a professional basketball player from the Dominican Republic who plays for the NBA’s Boston Celtics. He was selected to the NBA All-Star five times. He was picked by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall choice in the 2007 NBA Draft, and he spent nine seasons with them before signing with the Celtics as a free agent in the 2016 off-season. He spent three seasons with the Celtics before signing with the 76ers in the 2019 offseason. He spent one season with the franchise before being traded to the Thunder in the 2020 offseason. Horford was moved to the Celtics before the 2021 season, where he played in the NBA championship.

3. Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol photo by Keith Allison –

Pau Gasol is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was chosen for four different All-NBA teams and six NBA All-Star games, twice for the second team and twice for the third team. In 2009 and 2010, Gasol won back-to-back NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the first player from a country other than the United States to win NBA Rookie of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002. He is recognized as one of the all-time great power forwards and one of the all-time best European players. Over his NBA career, Gasol amassed more than 550 double-doubles.

Also Read: 35 Best White Basketball Players of All Time

4. Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol during EuroBasket 2011 photo by Augustas Didžgalvis –

Marc Gasol is a professional basketball player from Spain. He has appeared in three NBA All-Star games and has been named to the All-NBA Team three times. He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. He was a member of the Toronto Raptors, who won the NBA Championship in 2019.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Gasol 48th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. Throughout his NBA career, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, and Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol has consistently competed for Spain since 2006. He has two Olympic silver medals in addition to two FIBA Basketball World Cup victories. At EuroBasket, he has two championships, two bronze medals, and one silver medal.

5. Anderson Varejao

Anderson Varejao photo by Erik Drost –

Anderson Varejo is a retired professional basketball player who spent 14 seasons in the NBA, 13 of them with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a career spanning four decades and four professional leagues, he has played for Franca and Flamengo of the Novo Basquete Brasil, Barcelona of the EuroLeague and Liga ACB, and the Brazilian national team, winning a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2003.

6. Tiago Splitter

Tiago Splitter photo by Zereshk –

Tiago Splitter is a retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association for seven seasons. Before his NBA career, he was a three-time All-EuroLeague Team selection. As a member of the San Antonio Spurs, he became the first Brazilian-born player to win an NBA title in 2014.

7. Carlos Delfino

Carlos Delfino photo by Keith Allison –

Carlos Delfino is a professional basketball player for Victoria Libertas Pesaro in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. He is a dual citizen of Italy and Argentina. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and plays small forward and shooting guard. He’s also known for his defence and three-point shooting abilities. In the NBA, Carlos played for the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. 

8. Jose Calderon

Jose Calderon photo by Keith Allison –

Spanish basketball executive and former player José Calderón serves as a special advisor for the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers. In his active career, he earned a FIBA World Cup championship with the Spanish national team in 2006, two Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012, as well as a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Games. In addition, he received a bronze in 2013, two silver medals in 2003 and 2007, and a championship in EuroBasket in 2011. In 2007, Calderón was chosen for the All-EuroBasket Team.

9. Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio photo by Frenchieinportland –

Spanish professional basketball player Ricard Rubio plays for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. On October 15, 2005, at the age of 14, Rubio became the youngest player ever to compete in the Spanish ACB League. On October 24, 2006, just a few days after turning 16, he made his EuroLeague debut, making him one of the league’s youngest players to do so under the league’s current system. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Rubio with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft on June 25, making him the league’s first draft player born in the 1990s.

10. Juancho Hernangómez

Juancho Hernangómez photo by All-Pro Reels –

Juan Hernangómez is a Spanish professional basketball player who most recently played for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. He has played for the senior Spanish national team and Estudiantes in the Liga ACB. In the 2016 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets selected him with the 15th overall pick, and he played for them for three and a half seasons before being moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He had brief stays with the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz after spending one and a half seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves in his seventh season. He joined the Toronto Raptors in the 2022 offseason and helped his native Spain win the EuroBasket.

11. Adam Parada

Adam Parada is a former NBA basketball player from Mexico. His most notable performance was as an import with the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Basketball League. He attended the University of California, Irvine for four years, but no team selected him in the 2004 NBA Draft. He established himself as a pillar of the Mexico national team. He first played as an import for the Red Bull Barako in 2008 and led the Barako to a third-place finish, becoming the first Latin American reinforcement in an Asian league.

Related: 15 Best Mexican basketball Players

12. Greivis Vásquez

Greivis Vásquez photo by Keith Allison –

 Greivis Vásquez is a former professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. In his most recent position as associate head coach of the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League, he was employed as a coach. Being a Caracas native, he relocated to the United States in 2004 to attend high school at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. Vásquez also represented the Venezuelan national team in international competitions.

In the FIBA America Championships in 2007, Vásquez participated on the Venezuelan national basketball team. His rise to prominence was highlighted by his performance for Venezuela in the 2011 FIBA Americas Tournament, which helped them achieve a fifth-place finish. At 19.3 PPG and 5.8 APG, Vásquez was the best assist provider the second-best scorer in the competition.

13. Eduardo Nájera

Eduardo Najera playing with the New Jersey Nets photo by Keith Allison –

Eduardo Nájera is a retired Mexican professional basketball player. Nájera was only the second Mexican-born NBA player and was the first Mexican player to be drafted. The Houston Rockets selected him 38th overall in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft. He had time in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, and Charlotte Bobcats. He presently scouts for the Dallas Mavericks and is a pregame and postgame analyst for Fox Sports Southwest’s Mavericks Live.

14. Carlos Arroyo

Carlos Arroyo photo by Ultraslansi – Wikimedia commons

Carlos Arroyo previously played for the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics. He starred for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League during the 2008–09 campaign, helping the team win the league title and earn the Most Valuable Player honours in the Final. He also led the Israeli Premier League in assists in 2009. Along with Turkey and Spain, he has appeared professionally in Puerto Rico.

Arroyo played for the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games victory over the United States. He also represented Puerto Rico in Japan in 2006 during the FIBA World Championship.

15. Jose Juan Barea

Jose Juan Barea photo by Keith Allison –

When José Juan Barea joined the Dallas Mavericks in 2006, he became the seventh Puerto Rican to play in the NBA. He later won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 before deciding to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the following three seasons. Also, he has competed for the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in the NBA Development League. Barea competed for Puerto Rico on the national squad that captured the gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2006 and 2010. When Puerto Rico won the gold medal in the 2011 Pan American Games and the silver medal in the 2007 Pan American Games, he served as the team’s starting point guard.

16. Francisco Garcia

Francisco García played nine seasons of professional basketball in the NBA. Standing at 6’7″, the 195-pound swingman began his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, who took him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He had previously played college basketball for the University of Louisville before being drafted. He spent three seasons playing with the Houston Rockets as well.

17. Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili photo by Mike –

Emanuel Ginóbili is a former professional basketball player. Along with Bill Bradley, he became one of only two players to have won an Olympic gold medal, an NBA championship, and a EuroLeague championship throughout his 23-year professional career. Ginóbili, a four-time NBA champion, played his entire 16-year NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs. He frequently receives credit for making the NBA’s Euro step popular.

18. Juan Toscano-Anderson

Juan Toscano-Anderson photo by Erik Drost –

Juan Toscano-Anderson is a Mexican-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. Juan was acquired by the Utah Jazz in a trade on February 9, 2023. He made his team debut on February 15. He played collegiate basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. Over his illustrious career, he has played for several teams, the most noteworthy of which is the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz.

In 2022, he won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. Toscano-Anderson was a star for the Mexican national basketball team at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic qualifying tournament in Turin, Italy.

19. Rudy Fernandez

Rudy Fernandez Photo by Cristina Ruiz/Unnika –

Spanish professional basketball player Rudy Fernández plays for Real Madrid in the Liga ACB. He was chosen for the All-EuroLeague Team three times and won the championship in 2015 and 2018. He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Second Team during his time playing in the NBA.

Fernández represents the senior Spain national team internationally. He has won two FIBA World Cup championships (2006 and 2019), two Olympic silver medals (2008, and 2012), and a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also received a silver medal in 2007 and a bronze medal in 2013, in addition to four EuroBasket championships in 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2022. In 2009, Fernández was chosen for the All-EuroBasket Team.

20. Ferrán Bassas

Ferrán Bassas photo by David Grau Llinares –

Ferran Navarra is a Gran Canaria professional basketball player in the Spanish Liga ACB and EuroCup. Playing for Tenerife, he won the Basketball Champions League on April 30, 2017. He played for Burgos in the 2019-20 season.Ferran signed for Joventut Badalona on July 2, 2020. Bassas signed a contract with Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB and EuroCup on July 5, 2022.

Also Read: 25 Best Canadian Basketball Players Of All Time