Dani Díez

Daniel Díez de la Faya (born 17 May 1993) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Spanish national team in international competition.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Díez and the second or maternal family name is de la Faya.
Dani Díez
Díez in 2023
No. 11 – Cazoo Baskonia
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1993-05-17) 17 May 1993
Madrid, Spain
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2015: 2nd round, 54th overall pick
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2015Real Madrid
2010–2012→ Real Madrid B
2012–2013→ Gipuzkoa
2014–2015→ Gipuzkoa
2015–2019Unicaja Málaga
2019–2021CB Canarias
2021–2022San Pablo Burgos
2022–presentBaskonia
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Spain
U20 European Championship
Bronze medal – third place2013 EstoniaU20 Team
Bronze medal – third place2012 SloveniaU20 Team
U18 European Championship
Gold medal – first place2011 PolandU18 Team
U16 European Championship
Gold medal – first place2009 LithuaniaU16 Team

Professional career

Spanish League

Díez started his playing career in 2005 in the U-14 Adecco Estudiantes, team that left to join the U-18 Real Madrid Baloncesto in 2009.

The following season, 2009–10, he debuted for the Real Madrid Baloncesto B team in LEB Plata League.

During the 2011–12 season he became one of the more important Real Madrid Baloncesto B players, coached by Alberto Angulo, and also began to train and travel with the Real Madrid first team. Díez finally debuted in the ACB League, in the match against Assignia Manresa played on 18 December 2011.

In June 2012 he was invited to the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso (Italy), one of Europe's best showcase for young players. He completed a fantastic tournament, scoring 16 points in the final game, and was named the Eurocamp's top small forward.[1]

During the 2012–13 season he played on loan for ACB League's Lagun Aro GBC. In the preseason he was one of the most outstanding players of his new team, averaging 10.2 points and 4 rebounds. In Week 5 of the Spanish League he had his personal best game with 17 points.

In the summer of 2013, he returned to Real Madrid, becoming a more standard part of the 12-men roster that won the Spanish League championship and finished second in the 2012–13 Euroleague. On 27 August, Díez started the preparation for the pre-season along with his teammates.[2] On 5 October they obtained the first title of the season, the Spanish Supercup, by defeating Barcelona in the final by the score of 83–79.

In September 2014, Díez was loaned again to Gipuzkoa Basket.[3] He was named MVP of week 20 of the 2014–15 ACB season, after obtaining 32 points and 36 in PIR against Andorra. He has also been included in the best team of the 2014–15 ACB season in weeks 15, 20 and 31.

On 19 May 2015, Díez was named the Best Young Player of the competition, after averaging in his second year with Gipuzkoa Basket 12.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.[4]

On 8 July 2015, Díez signed a two-year contract with Unicaja.[5] In April 2017, Díez won the EuroCup with Unicaja after beating Valencia BC in the Finals.[6]

On 5 July 2019, Díez signed a two-years deal with an option for a third season with Iberostar Tenerife of the Liga ACB.[7] He extended his contract until 2023 on 3 July 2020.[8]

On 19 July 2021, Díez signed a one-year deal with San Pablo Burgos of the Spanish Liga ACB. San Pablo Burgos also plays in the Basketball Champions League. [9]

On August 3, 2022, Díez signed with Saski Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB.[10] On July 5, 2023, he renewed his contract with the team.

NBA draft rights

On 25 June 2015, he was selected with the 54th pick of the 2015 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz and his rights were afterwards traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash considerations.[11] On February 9, 2023, Díez's draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks in a four-team trade involving the Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets.[12]

National team career

In 2009, Díez won the gold medal with the Spain U-16 national team at the 2009 FIBA U16 European Championship.

In July 2010 he played at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, in Hamburg (Germany). He led Spain in scoring and rebounding, with averages of 12.9 points and 7 rebounds per game.[13]

In the summer of 2011 he won the gold medal at the 2011 FIBA U18 European Championship, being selected to the All-Tournament Team. He averaged 12.2 points and 10.4 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game over the competition.[14]

In July 2012 he played with the Spain U-20 national team and obtained the bronze medal at the 2012 FIBA U20 European Championship. Despite being only 19 years old, he was selected to the All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, with a 56% field goal percentage.[15] Díez was the leading scorer and rebounder for Spain, playing both forward positions.[16]

In the summer of 2013 he won the bronze medal again, this time at the 2013 FIBA U20 European Championship. Dani Díez continued to improve his game to become one of the most important players for Spain, which resulted in him being selected to the All-Tournament Team for the 3rd consecutive year.[17] His averages improved significantly compared to previous years, to 18.7 points (top scorer of the tournament) and 8.8 rebounds per game.[18]

Dani Díez has played 9 times with the Spain national team.[19]

Individual awards

References
  1. draftexpress.com 2012 Adidas Eurocamp top performers
  2. realmadrid.com Real Madrid basketball team goes back to training Archived 2013-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Dani Díez regresa al Gipuzkoa Basket; ACB.com, 2 September 2014
  4. "Dani Díez, Mejor Jugador Joven de la Liga Endesa 2014-15" (in Spanish). ACB.com. 19 May 2015.
  5. "Unicaja adds fire power with Jackson, Diez". Euroleague.net. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. "7DAYS EuroCup Finals, Game 3: Unicaja Malaga is the champion!". Eurocupbasketball.com. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  7. "Iberostar Tenerife sign Daniel Diez". Sportando. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  8. "Iberostar Tenerife extends Dani Diez". Sportando. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  9. "Dani Díez, esfuerzo al servicio del Hereda San Pablo Burgos". sanpabloburgos.com (in Spanish). 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  10. "Dani Diez joins Cazoo Baskonia". Sportando. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  11. "Trail Blazers Acquire Draft Rights to Daniel Diez". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  12. "New York Knicks Acquire Josh Hart". NBA.com. February 9, 2023. New York Knicks announced today that the team has acquired guard/forward Josh Hart and the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic and Daniel Diez from Portland.
  13. fiba.com 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  14. fibaeurope.com 2011 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship - All Tournament Team
  15. fibaeurope.com 2012 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship - All Tournament Team
  16. fibaeurope.com 2012 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship - Dani Díez stats
  17. fibaeurope.com 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship - All Tournament Team
  18. fibaeurope.com 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship - Dani Díez stats
  19. seleccionbaloncesto.es Internacionales con España de baloncesto
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