Spain basketball great Rudy Fernandez to retire at the end of the season

Spain’s most capped basketball player Rudy Fernandez said Thursday he will retire at the end of the season, drawing time on a sparkling career.

The Real Madrid guard/forward is hoping to bow out at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics if he can help Spain qualify this summer.

“The word retirement is difficult to say, but I’ve reached a certain age and I’m starting to think about other things, about my family,” Fernandez told a news conference on his 39th birthday.

“I’ve got a few months left and I hope to be able to contribute as much as I can,” he said.

Fernandez, who made his Spanish league debut with Badalona 20 years ago, boasts one of the best records in European basketball; two World Cups, four European triumphs and two Olympic silver medals with Spain, as well as six Spanish championships and three EuroLeagues with Real Madrid.

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An impressive three-point shooter, Fernandez was one of the key men in La Roja’s golden generation alongside the Gasol brothers and former Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ricky Rubio.

Fernandez, with 250 appearances for his country, said he promised his late father that the Paris Olympics would be his final tournament, two decades after appearing in Athens at the 2004 Games.

“I still have to fulfil the dream my father had (for me) of playing in another Olympic Games,” he said.

In 16 seasons with Real Madrid, after a mixed spell in the NBA, Fernandez has played more than 700 times and won 27 titles and a host of individual awards.