NBA career of Facundo Campazzo was very short. It took six million dollars to get him to leave Real Madrid, then the Argentine playmaker arrived in Denver in 2020. How was he received?
“I didn't have the rookie hazing because I was already 29 and the leaders, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, respected me a lot. I had faced them in FIBA,” he remembers. “My first practice, coach Michael Malone had a compilation of the rookie footage. They showed me against Serbia at the 2019 World Cup, so I felt good, even though Jokic was a little grumpy. It was fun and it took the nerves out.”
The triple MVP advised the former Madrid player to acclimatize to the NBA world, very different from the Euroleague. “He told me to forget everything I had learned in FIBA over the years: that it was another sport.”says Facundo Campazzo. “It's a different way to approach the season, to train, to play, the rules are different, the game is not the same. Also, Jokic was the point guard, so I had to reinvent myself. It helped me a lot, it made me better.”
Living the NBA Dream
The player took advantage of Jamal Murray's injury to get playing time in Colorado, with 130 games in two seasons and an average of 20 minutes. Although, in the end, it was more difficult.
“I would rather not play anymore, than have only 90 seconds, to run, defend, make a mistake that would take me out, and I would not play anymore. It was a horrible feeling. I had better moments in training than in a match”he laments.
The sequel in Dallas was even more of a failure, with only eight games. He was then cut and would not play in the NBA again. “In my first practices, I thought I was pretty good, I understood things. It's cruel, but I understood. I found out I was cut with a message from a friend on Twitter. The GM told me it came from above, from Mark Cuban”explains the Argentinian.
After this 138-game stint, does Facundo Campazzo have any regrets about the NBA? “I didn't go there for the money, I did it to live the dream. For the young guy that I was who wanted to play in the NBA. It was a fantasy,” concludes the Real Madrid player.
| Facundo Campazzo | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | DEN | 65 | 22 | 38.1 | 35.2 | 87.9 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
| 2021-22 | DEN | 65 | 18 | 36.1 | 30.1 | 76.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 5.1 |
| 2022-23 | DAL | 2 | 8 | 25.0 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Total | 132 | 20 | 37.1 | 32.8 | 82.8 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 5.5 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
