Former Maryland basketball star Bruno Fernando makes a major move
The two-year Maryland star is a true fan favorite.
One of Maryland men's basketball's most recent stars to make the NBA has made the jump overseas.
Bruno Fernando, 26, signed with Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the Euro League, the club announced Friday. The deal will keep him with Real Madrid through the end of the 2025-26 season.
Fernando played for four teams across a six-season, 220-game NBA career. He has career averages of four points and 3.2 rebounds per game and career shooting percentages of 53.1% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line. The Luanda, Angola native became the first Angolan to be drafted to the NBA, play in the NBA, play in the NBA playoffs and make the NBA conference finals.
Fernando was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers (then traded to the Atlanta Hawks) with the No. 34 overall pick in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Fernando played in 89 games during his first stint with the Hawks before he was traded to the Boston Celtics on Aug. 7, 2021.
Fernando appeared in just 20 games with the Celtics before being traded again – this time to the Houston Rockets – on Feb. 10, 2022. Fernando played 10 games with the Rockets during the 2021-22 season and 31 during the 2022-23 season. He was traded once again on Feb. 9, 2023, returning to the Hawks.
He signed with the Toronto Raptors on Aug. 4, 2024, a one-year, $2,425,403 deal per Spotrac. He averaged 3.4 points and three rebounds per game in 17 games before being waived on Jan. 7. Fewer than three weeks later, he found a home in Spain.
Though Fernando spent just two years in College Park, he is highly regarded in the program's recent history. Often bringing palpable passion to the floor and constantly igniting the XFINITY Center crowd, Fernando was – and still is – a fan favorite. He was a Big Ten all-freshman team selection in 2018 and an All-Big Ten first team and Big Ten all-defensive team selection in 2019. Fernando's cousin, Selton Miguel, has started every game for the Terps this season after transferring from South Florida.
Madrid is currently in second place in Liga ACB and sixth place in the Euro League.
