Bruno Fernando
Fernando in 2019
No. 24 – Atlanta Hawks
PositionCenter / power forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-08-15) August 15, 1998 (age 25)
Luanda, Angola
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeMaryland (2017–2019)
NBA draft2019: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Atlanta Hawks
2019→College Park Skyhawks
2021–2022Boston Celtics
2021–2022→Maine Celtics
2022–2023Houston Rockets
2023–presentAtlanta Hawks
2023→College Park Skyhawks
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Big Ten (2019)
  • Big Ten All-Defensive team (2019)
  • Big Ten All-Freshman team (2018)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Angola
FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rwanda Team

Bruno Afonso David Fernandes,[1] also known as Bruno Fernando[2] (born August 15, 1998), is an Angolan professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins.

High school career

A native of Luanda, Angola, Bruno Fernando started playing basketball in his hometown.[3] While playing the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship with the Angolan national team, he caught the eye of scouts in the US.[3] In early 2015, he joined the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.[4] He committed to Southern Methodist University in April 2016[5] but decided the following month to reclassify into the Class of 2017. He spent the 2016–17 season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[6] In October 2016, Bruno Fernando committed to the University of Maryland, after also considering Auburn, Alabama, and Florida State, among others.[7]

College career

Fernando made his debut for Maryland on November 10, 2017, against Stony Brook. Coming off the bench, he scored ten points to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in 13 minutes of playing time.[8] He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on January 8, 2018, after posting 17 points and 11 rebounds against Penn State and a career-high 21 points in a 91–73 win versus Iowa.[9] He had a strong freshman season as he averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game, and earned All-Big Ten Freshman honors. After the season, Fernando declared for the 2018 NBA draft and participated in the NBA Draft Combine that year, but withdrew from the draft and returned to Maryland.[10]

Professional career

Fernando and Jordan McRae in 2019

Atlanta Hawks (2019–2021)

Fernando was selected as the 34th pick of the 2019 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Fernando became the first Angolan player to be selected in the NBA draft.[11] He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks.[12] On July 7, 2019, the Hawks announced that they had signed Fernando.[13] On October 24, 2019, Fernando made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 117–100 win over the Detroit Pistons with seven points, three rebounds and two assists.[14] He received his first assignment to the Hawks’ NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, on November 25. He made his G League debut that evening. Fernando missed several games in January 2020 due to the death of his mother.[15]

On June 20, 2021, Fernando was suspended for one game without pay for leaving the bench during an altercation between the Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers.[16]

Boston Celtics (2021–2022)

On August 7, 2021, Fernando was traded to the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade involving the Sacramento Kings. On November 19, 2021, Fernando made his debut with the Maine Celtics scoring four points and shooting 100% from the field. [17]

Houston Rockets (2022–2023)

On February 10, 2022, the Houston Rockets acquired Fernando, Enes Freedom, and Dennis Schröder from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Daniel Theis.[18]

On July 26, 2022, Fernando re-signed with the Rockets in a two-way deal.[19] On October 2, the Rockets converted his two-way contract into a four-year, $10.9 million deal.[20] On October 19, he had his first start on the team with a seven-point, nine-rebound, and seven-assist performance in a 117–107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[21]

Return to Atlanta (2023–present)

On February 9, 2023, Fernando and Garrison Mathews were traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky, and two future second-round draft picks.[22]

National team career

Participating in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, he averaged 9.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per contest for the Angolan national team. In 2016, Bruno Fernando made his debut with Angola's men's national team and participated in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.[23] Averaging 18.3 points, 6.6 boards, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game, he led Angola to gold at the 2016 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship, while receiving Afrobasket.com All-African Championships U18 Best Player honors.[24]

He later also joined the Angola senior team for the 2018 Olympic Qualifiers. He did not play for his country for four years, until returning in August 2022 for Angola's World Cup qualifiers.[25]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Atlanta 56 13 12.7 .518 .135 .569 3.5 .9 .3 .3 4.3
2020–21 Atlanta 33 0 6.8 .409 .000 .682 2.4 .3 .1 .1 1.5
2021–22 Boston 20 0 2.9 .500 1.000 .800 .8 .2 .0 .2 1.0
Houston 10 0 9.4 .707 .000 .579 4.0 .3 .1 .8 6.9
2022–23 Houston 31 4 11.7 .516 .000 .682 3.9 1.0 .2 1.0 4.1
Atlanta 8 0 5.2 .579 .000 .833 1.9 .1 .0 .4 3.4
Career 158 17 9.5 .527 .133 .639 3.0 .6 .2 .4 3.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Atlanta 6 0 2.0 .667 — 1.000 .2 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0
Career 6 0 2.0 .667 — 1.000 .2 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Maryland 30 20 22.4 .578 .333 .740 6.6 .7 .4 1.2 10.3
2018–19 Maryland 34 33 30.0 .607 .300 .779 10.6 2.0 .6 1.9 13.6
Career 64 53 26.4 .595 .308 .763 8.7 1.4 .5 1.6 12.0

References

  1. ^ "Bruno Afonso David Fernandes profile, Afrobasket U18 2016". FIBA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bruno Fernando | Atlanta Hawks | NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Markus, Don. "Basketball grew quickly on Maryland recruit Bruno Fernando". baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  4. ^ Stubbs, Roman (October 2, 2016). "Angolan Bruno Fernando becomes Maryland basketball's first commit of 2017 class". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "Four-star center Bruno Fernando commits to SMU". SI.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  6. ^ "Maryland Basketball: Former SMU Bruno Fernando chooses Terps". Busting Brackets. October 2, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  7. ^ Stubbs, Roman (November 10, 2016). "Maryland basketball officially signs 2017 prospects Bruno Fernando, Darryl Morsell". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "Stats - Maryland Terrapins". www.umterps.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  9. ^ "Maryland, Ohio State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Buckeyes' Keita Bates-Diop earns Player of the Week award; Terrapins' Bruno Fernando named Freshman of the Week". www.bigten.org. CBS Interactive. January 8, 2018. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Phillips, Scott (May 28, 2018). "Maryland big man Bruno Fernando withdraws from 2018 NBA Draft". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "Maryland's Bruno Fernando drafted 34th overall, will be traded to the Hawks". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Acquire Draft Rights To Bruno Fernando From 76ers". NBA.com. July 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Sign Bruno Fernando". NBA.com. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  14. ^ "Trae Young has 38 points, Hawks beat Pistons 117-110". ESPN.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  15. ^ "Hawks' Bruno Fernando: Remains out Tuesday". CBS Sports. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Hawks' Bruno Fernando suspended and 76ers' Joel Embiid fined". NBA. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Celtics Acquire Dunn, Fernando in Three-Team Trade". NBA.com. August 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Celtics Re-Acquire Daniel Theis in Four-Player Deal with Rockets". NBA.com. February 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "Rockets Re-Sign Bruno Fernando". www.nba.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  20. ^ "Rockets agree to four-year deal with Bruno Fernando". HoopsHype.com. October 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "Rockets vs. Hawks - NBA Box Score - October 19, 2022". ESPN. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  22. ^ "Rockets Complete Four-Player Trade with Atlanta". NBA.com. February 9, 2023.
  23. ^ "Angola set to face endless challenges at FIBA AfroBasket 2017". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  24. ^ "EUROBASKET NEWS". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  25. ^ "What can the first Angolan in the NBA bring to the table in Window 4?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved August 23, 2022.

External links

Atlanta Hawks roster
2019 NBA draft
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