- Farewell: Calderón retires after 14 seasons in the NBA and eight medals with Spain
José Manuel Calderón has ended his career after 21 years active. He says goodbye after 14 seasons in the NBA and eight medals with the national team, including the 2006 World Cup gold, the two Olympic silver and one Eurobasket. In its own right, one of the greats in the history of Spanish basketball.
The golds of Varna and Mannheim
José Manuel Calderón reached his first concentration with the U18 team with his eyes wide open, as Charly Sainz de Aja recalled. It was a year smaller than the rest of those who would be gold juniors and wanted to learn everything. He played little because he had Raül López and Carlos Cabezas ahead but kept his hunger as he would for the rest of his career. In 1998 he won gold in Mannheim, the informal World Cup in the category, and in that European Varna. The Lisbon World Cup was lost because of an injury, but it will always be part of the best generation in the history of Spanish basketball.
Debut in ACB at 19
Calderón left home at age 13 to sign for Baskonia and debuted as a professional with Lucentum Alicante before turning 18. With the newly released age he was key in the club's first ascent to the ACB and the following season debuted with them in the maximum competition. Before debuting with Baskonia, I would spend another year of fire in Fuenlabrada. At that time he still stood out more for his physique than for his wrist. That in his passage through the NBA has stood out as a shooter (40.7% in triples in 14 seasons) speaks of his ability to work.
First summer with the absolute
After that year of transition with the Jabones Pardo Fuenlabrada, it was his turn with the national team, although he sure would have liked to do so in other circumstances. Calderón had entered the preselection for the 2002 Indianapolis World Cup, but Javier Imbroda's last discard for the tournament was missing. However, a few days later Raül López suffered a very serious knee injury and the door opened again. Two days later, on August 20, 2002 in Torrelavega, the Extremaduran base debuted in a friendly against Croatia. His role, both in the World Cup and in the gold of Eurobasket 2003 was testimonial.
Cup Champion, runner-up in Europe
Calderón was one of the players who raised Baskonia as a reference in European basketball. It was only three years with the first team, but the progression was meteoric. The Vitorian team won the Copa del Rey in 2004 with him as sixth man and in 2005, already as a star with Scola, he was runner-up of the Euroleague - the first Final Four in its history - and ACB. Calderón had the last shot after the legendary Herreros triple, but Antonis Fotsis plugged his tray over the horn.
The fourth Spanish in the NBA
José Manuel Calderón had not yet exploded when his NBA draft promotion arrived in 2003, but two years later he already had offers on the table. The Toronto Raptors, which were undergoing reconstruction after Vince Carter's departure, opted for Villanueva de la Serena's with a contract for three seasons and minutes behind veteran Mike James. He was the fourth Spanish to debut in the NBA after Fernando Martín, Pau Gasol and Raül López. His ability to attack the hoop and finish with trays made Andrés Montes baptize him as ' Mr. Catering '.
The gold of Japan 2006
Calderón could hardly have imagined a more rounded year: after his debut in the NBA, the blessed gold of 2006 arrived. The selection had played in the 2004 Games and in the Eurobasket of 2005 (without Pau) and for the 2006 World Cup It did not enter among the favorites. There was the United States, rearmed, Argentina, Olympic champion, Greece ... But Spain, already with Calde as the starting base, won the gold in Saitama. Then came the Eurobasket silver of 2007 and Beijing 2008. The same color, but different brightness.
Goodbye Toronto
Toronto was Calderón's home during his first seven and a half seasons in the NBA. The Extremaduran base played in Canada from its landing in 2005 until it was transferred to the Detroit Pistons in January 2013. The arrival of Kyle Lowry had been cornering him and in the middle of the season he ended up as a currency. Today he remains the historical leader of the franchise in assists (3770) and is the third most played (525), although probably Lowry himself unseat him this season.
The winning shot of the Staples
In 2013 Calderón signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, but the following summer he was transferred to the New York Knicks, where he would spend two seasons. There lived one of those moments that anyone dreams when he grows up playing basketball: at the Staples Center, against the Lakers and with the game tied at 87, he scored a triple winner over the horn.
Two hours in the Warriors
For two hours, José Manuel Calderón was a member of the best team in the world. After agreeing to leave the Lakers, Extremadura had signed for Golden State, the great candidate for the ring. That night the Warriors played in Chicago and the utilleros were already prepared in the bank their black kit with the number 8, however, Kevin Durant was injured and the Warriors had to cut Calderón to sign another forward, Matt Barnes.
The praise of LeBron
Throughout his NBA career, José Manuel Calderón has distinguished himself as a great game director. Although the physicist was neglecting him in recent years, franchises have continued to appreciate until the end their intelligence and their ability to make costumes, either as a youth tutor or as a costume man. Proof of this was that bet of (although failed) of the Warriors or that the following year he signed for the other great contender, the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Any team needs to have one or two players like Calderón. Someone with zero ego, who is always prepared and who, if he goes out, produces." Word of LeBron James.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more- sports
- basketball
- NBA
NBA 2019 - 2020A NBA wide open
NBALThe thousand faces of Vince Carter for a stratospheric record
NBALs knees make Zion Williamson tremble and the start of the season will be lost