Ricky Rubio, 35, remains one of the most prestigious names in European basketball. He was the youngest player in the history of the Liga ACB to play a game at just 14 years old with Badalone. He played for his formative club, La Pistola, which won the EuroCup in 2006, as well as a Copa del Rey and the ULEB Cup in 2008. Selected fifth in the NBA Draft by the Timberwolves, he spent two years in Catalonia, playing for the rival of FC Barcelona, winning the EuroLeague in 2010 and the Liga Endesa in 2011. He played 712 games over 12 seasons in the NBA with Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix, and Cleveland. He made four seasons with more than two steals per game in the NBA. His American career was disrupted by several knee injuries and a pause for his mental health. He returned to the Barça in 2024, before completing the loop at Badalone last season (13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 21 minutes in the Spanish league), 16 years after his departure. The ACB currently lists him as the second best passer in the history of the Liga Endesa and sixth in overall evaluation. He was one of the key players in the golden generation of the Spanish national team. With the Spanish national team (93 selections), he won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at just 17 years old, then won the European Championship in 2009 and 2011, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The peak of his career? The 2019 world championship title, where he was named MVP. Willy Hernangómez, another great hope of Spanish basketball, was formed at Real Madrid and made his professional debut on loan with Seville in 2013. Selected 35th in the 2015 NBA Draft by Philadelphia, but with his rights transferred to the New York Knicks, the center waited a year at Real Madrid. During that season, he filled his resume with a Liga Endesa and a Copa del Rey title. He went to the United States in the summer of 2016, where he spent seven seasons in the NBA, playing for New York, Charlotte, and New Orleans. Named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2017, he did not manage to establish himself as a major element in the NBA despite 344 games and an average of 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. He returned to Europe in 2023 to join FC Barcelona, where he played three seasons in the EuroLeague, then Malaga during the last intersession. Like Rubio, he built his legend with the Spanish national team, with five international medals. Double European champion (2015 and 2022), bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and at the Euro in 2017, and especially world champion in 2019, he was especially named MVP of the EuroBasket 2022 after beating France in the final. Thomas Heurtel, a colorful figure in French basketball, was revealed at Élan Béarnais and Strasbourg, then built his empire in Spain at Alicante and Vitoria, where he discovered the EuroLeague between 2011 and 2014. His move to Anadolu Efes marked a turning point: the point guard finished as the best passer in the EuroLeague in 2015 and 2016, before joining FC Barcelona in 2017. In Catalonia, he won two consecutive Copa del Rey titles (2018, 2019), being named MVP each time. His love stories have not always ended well in recent years but he won the double of cup-championship with ASVEL in 2021 and the Spanish championship in 2022 with Real Madrid. His adventures took him to Russia to Zenit Saint Petersburg (which kept him away from the French team for two years), to China to Shenzhen and back to Spain to La Corogne and then to Villeurbanne last season. With the French national team, the Agathois remains stuck at 99 selections. His resume speaks for itself; European champion in 2013, bronze medalist at the 2014 World Cup, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and at the EuroBasket in 2022. At 37, a new challenge awaits him in the Greek capital. Nicolas Laprovittola, another international basketball legend, was formed in Argentina and passed through Brazil at the beginning of his career. He built a solid resume in Europe. Launched at Rytas Vilnius and Estudiantes Madrid, the Italian-Argentine point guard briefly experienced the NBA (16 games with the San Antonio Spurs) before becoming a reference in the Spanish league. After passing through Baskonia, he exploded with Joventut Badalone, finishing as the best scorer and best passer of Liga Endesa and winning the MVP trophy in 2018-2019. This opened the doors to Real Madrid, where he won a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Supercups, then to FC Barcelona in 2021. After five years at Barcelona (a Liga Endesa in 2023 and a Copa del Rey in 2022), the Argentine returned to Badalone for three seasons. With the Argentine national team, he won silver at the 2019 World Cup and won gold at the 2022 Americas Championship, notably defeating the United States in the semifinals, after having won silver twice in 2015 and 2017, and once bronze in 2013.