NEW YORK -- On every occasion that Juan Carlos Navarro handled the basketball at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, he was loudly cheered. Surprisingly, Navarro was appearing in his first game at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
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| Juan Carlos Navarro is making his shots count in the NBA. PHOTO COURTESY OF NBA |
Navarro was a member of the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. The 27 year-old NBA rookie from Spain is one of the most productive newcomers in the league.
Navarro came off the bench to score 17 points, grab five rebounds, and pass for four assists in the 120-106 Memphis victory. The win broke an 18 game losing streak in road contests for the Grizzlies. The cheers and chants from the less than 19,763 announced total of fans encouraged the visiting players. The only two Grizzlies who outscored Navarro in the game had high praise for their teammate from Spain.
The game's high scorer with 34 points, Mike Miller, spoke words of support and understanding of Navarro, "I was happy to see that [support] for Juan because he came a
long ways over here and then Pau [Gasol] left, and he's all by himself. [He] came from Spain to help us win games, and to see his fans come out here like this when we came to New York, I'm just happy to see him get a win, and happy to see him play well.
"UConn graduate Rudy Gay felt comfortable to be in the Garden again and was pleased by the support for Navarro, "It felt like a home game, as much as they were cheering
for him [Navarro]. He's the mayor out there." Navarro expressed his happiness about the encouraging support of so many fans, "I know that in New York there's a lot of Spanish people. It was like my first time in the Garden. I'm really, really excited. It gave me
energy. I'm really happy to bring these people this game."
The energy existed through the following day, as Navarro scored 22 points in a victory over Sacramento. Although Navarrro is a rookie in the NBA, he is a veteran of ten years in professional basketball. Navarro was a member of F.C. Barcelona for each of his previous years in pro ball. He was MVP of the Spanish League in the 2005-6 season. During three of those ten seasons he was a teammate of Pau Gasol on Barcelona. He was also a teammate of Gasol's on Spain's FIBA World Championship team in 2006. This season, he joined Gasol in Memphis. Gasol has since been traded to the Lakers on Feb. 1.
The 6-3 shooting guard has continued to play well for a Memphis club that is mired in last place in the division.
