After becoming the first Spanish and Catalan head coach in NBA history this season, Jordi Fernandez of the Nets was honored by his hometown this week and given a copy of the famous Venus of Badalona.
Xavier García Albiol, the mayor of Badalona, Spain, traveled to Barclays Center with his team and presented a replica of the Roman marble sculpture to Fernandez and his family in person. The 41-year-old, who became the fifth person ever to be honored in this manner, was also given a distinctive necklace reserved for “Badalona’s favorite son”.
Fernandez wanted to travel home for a planned tribute, but his professional obligations made it impossible for him to do so in the coming months. Albiol said Fernandez always has Badalona “on his lips” and “in his heart”.
“They gave me an award that only five people [have gotten] have in my hometown and it’s probably a city with a lot of years right, very old city, and being one of five is an extreme honor,” Fernandez said. “We’ve had a super accomplished swimmer with more gold medals in the Olympics than anybody else, singer, an actor and one of the first mayors in the city, and to get this award means the world to me, just to represent my city, and not just for me, but also my parents. They still live in Badalona, my friends.
“And being the basketball town that it is and me starting to play basketball there, starting coaching basketball there. All the great players that came from that city or that they were developed there. Like Raul Lopez played there, Ricky Rubio played there, Rudy Fernandez played there. So being part of a city that creates all these basketball players and coaches. It’s pretty cool. And everything I can do to represent and now that I’m honored this way, means a lot to me by my city.”
SIMMONS, FINNEY-SMITH MISS BOSTON REMATCH
Ben Simmons (left calf tightness) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) missed Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center. Both played in the Nets’ overtime loss to Boston at TD Garden last week.
Fernandez said Finney-Smith’s ankle injury is not believed to be serious, and that he wants the veteran forward to be at “200 percent” before returning to the court. Simmons’ calf injury is also said to be minor, but he did undergo an MRI recently to determine its severity. The Nets are still awaiting the results of Simmons’ exam, and he is considered day-to-day. With Finney-Smith out, Ziaire Williams received his second straight start against Boston.
“Zaire did a great job when he had the chance to start,” Fernandez said. “And obviously, if we all do our numbers, we’re going to need other guys to step up and play minutes. And that’s the exciting part to see who’s going to step up. Who’s going to give us the extra that we need and collectively be ready to pressure the ball, give a lot of effort, space the floor, cut, run… The guys are excited and like we’ve always done, next man up and just be ready to fight.”
BOGDANOVIĆ’S TIMELINE STILL UNCLEAR
Bojan Bogdanović, who continues to recover from offseason foot surgery, has not appeared in a game for Brooklyn this season and his timeline to return to the court remains murky.
“I saw him on the court shooting today,” Fernandez said. “But if you mean playing five-on-five and playing in a real game, he’s progressing well. We’re not going to give an exact date, but he’s doing good. He’s in good spirits, he had a good week, he was with us on the road. Having him around is very important because he’s a veteran and he’ll talk in huddles; he gives the guys all these tips on what to do during the games and his involvement is very important. To me, that means that he’s working, he cares, and whenever he’s physically ready he’ll be good for us.”
