Bruno Fernando, a former outstanding basketball player from Maryland, is currently ending up his sixth season in the NBA and will be looking for a new home.
Fernando’s request for waivers was made known by the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. In 45 games for Atlanta last season, Fernando recorded 6.3 points, a career-high 4.3 rebounds, and an assist per game while shooting 58.3% from the floor. Fernando played 142 games over his two stints with Atlanta, having started his career there and returned via trade in February 2023.
Nah, THANK YOU FR!!
Loveš¤š¾ https://t.co/nFmcxB2lEyā Bruno Fernando (@BrunoFernandoMV) July 30, 2024
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks first set a deadline of June 29 to secure Fernando’s $2.7 million contract. However, they later rescheduled that date to July 10 and then August 1. Shortly after, Atlanta signed former Spurs forward Dominick Barlow to a two-way deal.
Fernando, who turns 26 on August 15, formerly played for the Houston Rockets (2022ā2023) and Boston Celtics (2021ā22). Over his career, Fernando has averaged 3.3 rebounds and four points per game.
Fernando, who was born in Angola, has already accomplished a great deal. He made NBA history by being the first Angolan to be drafted, to play in the league, to participate in the NBA playoffs, and to advance to the NBA Conference Finals. Earlier this summer, Fernando and current Terp Selton Miguel failed to make it to the Olympics.
Fernando had an amazing two years at College Park, being named to the Big Ten all-freshman team in 2018 and the first team and all-defensive team in 2019. In the frontcourt with Jalen Smith, another large NBA player, Fernando averaged 13.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, two assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Fernando was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 34th overall choice in the 2019 NBA Draft.