Getty Juancho Hernangomez, then of the Boston Celtics.
Juancho Hernangomez has been in the news a lot lately. This is mostly because he will star in the upcoming Adam Sandler movie Hustle, which will be out on Netflix on June 8, 2022, but also because of some of the recent comments he made about his time with the Boston Celtics.
On May 26, 2022, Hernangomez reflected on his short time with the Celtics on NBA en Movistar Plus+, where he said they “had too many egos,” there were “so many selfish players,” and even added that he “lost his love for basketball” when he played there.
“Venía de Boston que a nivel de equipo eran jugadores un poco egoístas, había ego entre ellos. Después con 7 jugadores de cambio han sabido como jugar y juegan muy bien con 7/8. El problema era ese, que fuera de la pista no se hacía equipo”.
@juanchiviris41 en #GeneraciónNBA.
Juan Hernangomez on his stint in Boston:
“I wasn’t happy there, it was very hard. There was no communication, I didn’t know what was expected of me. There were many super selfish players, no team building. I lost my love for basketball a bit.”
(via @elpaisinenglish)
On June 3, 2022, Hernangomez went on the Rich Eisen Show where he went back on his claims that he wasn’t happy when he played in Boston but acknowledged that there were frustrations early on in the season when the Celtics were figuring themselves out.
“We had a rough start,” Hernangomez said. “We got a couple of close losses, a new coach, new everything. Everybody tried to (figure) out their roles. I was so happy there. I was so happy with the city, with the team, with the fans… They are three wins (away from) the title. I mean, they deserve it. They work so hard. We just had a bad beginning of the season. We didn’t find our game, but I’m happy they changed things and they deserve to win the championship.”
Although Juancho confirmed Boston’s issues earlier in the season, his praise for the Celtics contradicts a lot of what he said in his previous interview with NBA en Movistar Plus+. It makes one wonder why he’s telling a different story so suddenly.
Hernangomez Said He Left Boston on Good Terms
Hernangomez was not with the Celtics for very long. Boston acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves on September 15, 2021. He played 18 games for the Celtics before he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs on January 19, 2022. Despite his short time with the team and their struggles early on with him aboard, Hernangomez said there were no hard feelings after he was traded.
“I’m really cool with everybody,” Hernangomez said. “For me, outside, when I left, I left great people. I left the coach. I left everybody with a good hug with a good message… It was beautiful to see how they grew up together.”
In his earlier interview, Hernangomez said that he “lost his love for basketball a bit” when he played for Boston. Again, it’s hard to believe that he felt that way while also saying that he had good relationships with the team’s personnel leading up to when he was traded.
Hernangomez Praised Boston For Game 1 Victory
After the Celtics defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, Hernangomez took to Twitter to praise his former team for their resiliency on June 2, 2022.
Wow, never back down 🍀
The timing of this tweet is odd because, again, of what he had said earlier about his time with the team.
If the Celtics win the 2022 NBA Championship, that would make Hernangomez eligible for a championship ring himself for having been on the team earlier in the 2021-22 season. By supporting the Celtics during the finals, he’s making a case to get one.