We’re excited to announce that Willy Hernangómez — a young and prosperous NBA player is joining Lympo as a new member of the Lympo Athlete Pool.

Olympic bronze medalist, FIBA EuroBasket 2015 winner, 2019 World Cup Gold champion — these are only a few in his long list of achievements. The Spanish NBA star is working with us to launch his collection of Lympo digital sports cards.

Willy’s Professional Career

Coming from a family of basketball players, Willy had no doubt what his life purpose would be. His mom was the 1993 European Champion, as well as FIBA European Champions Cup winner, his dad — now retired international player who most famously played for Real Madrid. Even his younger siblings are ballers — brother plays for the Denver Nuggets, sister — for the Fairfield University team. With basketball running in his blood, Willy started his career at Las Rozas Basketball Club.

In 2011, Hernangómez was invited to play for Real Madrid and was considered one of the best team prospects. The first two seasons, Willy played on the reserve but later, in 2015, moved to the senior team. While playing for Real, Hernangomez was loaned to Cajasol Sevilla for two seasons. While playing for Sevilla, Willy was the top player in the team, with 29 points and 13 rebounds, as well as the youngest player to achieve this result in the Spanish basketball league.

After an incredible 2015/16 season — winning the Copa del Rey and the ACB League championship, Willy decided to make the jump to the NBA.

He was selected by the New York Knicks. While playing for the Knicks, Hernangómez achieved a career-high of 16 rebounds and 16 points per game.

He was also named to the World Team for the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge, was Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, and earned 2017 NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

In 2018, Willy Hernangómez was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. After 2 seasons, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, and currently, he still plays for the team.

As a member of the Spanish Junior National Team, Hernangómez played for the All-Tournament Team at the 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament.

He also won gold at the 2011 FIBA Europe U-18 Championship, silver at the 2014 FIBA Europe U-20 Championship, and was named to the FIBA All-Tournament Team. Later, he moved up to the Senior National Team and earned a gold medal at the EuroBasket 2015, a bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2017, and became the Olympic bronze medalist in 2016.

His latest accomplishment was winning gold at the FIBA World Cup in 2019 beating out major powerhouse basketball countries including USA, Australia, Italy and Argentina along the way.

Willy is an example that a good combination of court vision, feel and skill is more important than pure athleticism. He is a sound positional defender with an excellent understanding of angles, hand positioning, and timing — constantly rotating and putting his body between the opponent and the basket helps him alter shots.

He plays with a brand of savvy you rarely see. He keeps constantly moving as if he’s in constant flux with the ball and to quote one of his coaches — he would die if he stayed within one square meter for more than two seconds. His impressive ball movement and overall offensive mindset guarantee the team a good shot. What makes Hernangómez unique is his soft touch, good hands, fantastic timing, overall IQ, and most importantly — his feel for the game.

Career

• 2011–2015 — Real Madrid B
• 2015–2016 — Real Madrid
• 2013–2015 — Sevilla
• 2016–2018 — New York Knicks
• 2018–2020 — Charlotte Hornets
• 2020-present — New Orleans Pelicans

Awards and accomplishments

• 2011 European U-18 Championship — Gold
• 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament — All-Tournament Team member
• 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship — All-Tournament Team member
• 2014 EuroCup MVP of the Week
• 2014 European U-20 Championship — Silver
• 2015 and 2016 ACB All-Young Players Team member
• 2015 Intercontinental Cup
• 2015 Spanish National Championship Cup
• 2015 FIBA EuroBasket — Gold
• 2016 Spanish National Cup
• 2016 Summer Olympics — Bronze
• 2017 FIBA EuroBasket — Bronze
• 2017 NBA All-Rookie First Team member
• 2019 World Cup — Gold

Lympo NFTs

The Willy Hernangómez Collection will consist of 5 NFT sports cards that range in value — Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. The collection will also include a GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) card that will be auctioned off on the Lympo platform later.

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