Willy Hernangomez has officially signed a three-year contract with FC Barcelona of Spain’s ACB league, per a team press release. The news was anticipated, with Barcelona inking the free agent big man to an offer sheet, which his former Spanish club Real Madrid (prior to his NBA stint) chose not to match.
Hernangomez, 29, has spent the past seven seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Hornets and most recently the Pelicans. He was the 35th pick of the 2015 draft and made his debut with New York a year later.
A backup center, Hernangomez appeared in 135 games across three seasons with New Orleans, averaging 8.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per contest. The Pelicans declined their $2.6MM team option for the 2023/24 season on Hernangomez’s contract last month, putting him on track to return to Europe.
Hernangomez has also starred for the Spanish national team, winning MVP of last year’s EuroBasket tournament while leading Spain to a gold medal.
It’s possible Hernangomez will reunite with his brother Juancho Hernangomez in Barcelona, as the the team reportedly made an offer to Juancho. The free agent forward, who also holds seven years of NBA experience, spent part of last season with the Raptors before being waived in February.