Izan Almansa

Izan Almansa Pérez (born June 7, 2005) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Almansa and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.
Izan Almansa
No. 5 – NBA G League Ignite
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (2005-06-07) June 7, 2005
Murcia, Spain
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Real Madrid B
2021–2022Team OTE
2022–2023YNG Dreamerz
2023–presentNBA G League Ignite
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Spain
FIBA U19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place2023 HungaryTeam
FIBA U17 World Cup
Silver medal – second place2022 SpainTeam
FIBA U18 European Championship
Gold medal – first place2022 TurkeyTeam

Early life and youth career

Almansa was born in Murcia, Spain, to Cristina Almansa, a Murcia native, and Steve Horton, an American professional basketball player for CB Murcia.[1][2] After Horton retired, he returned to the United States.[1] Almansa grew up in Spain playing association football and dreamed of playing it professionally.[1][3] He did not begin to play basketball until he was nine years old, following a friend who had signed up.[1] Almansa initially joined the UCAM Murcia youth ranks and measured 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) by age 12.[4] In his final year with UCAM, he led the Infantil (under-14) squad to a sixth-place finish at the Spanish National Championship – the club's best performance ever at the Infantil level – while averaging 18 points and 18 rebounds per game.[5] In a group stage victory over La Salle Laguna, he recorded 32 points, 28 rebounds, and six steals.[6]

In the summer of 2019, Almansa was recruited by Real Madrid.[1][7] He went on to play two years with the Real Madrid Cadete (under-16) team.[1][8] Almansa also played three games with the Real Madrid reserves in the fourth-tier Liga EBA during the 2020–21 season.[9]

Professional career

Team OTE (2021–2022)

On August 5, 2021, it was announced that Almansa had signed with Overtime Elite (OTE), a professional basketball league for high school-aged players, ahead of its inaugural season.[10] In the 2021–22 season, he played for Team OTE against the other two OTE teams, as well as prep schools and postgraduate teams.[11][12] Almansa averaged 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range.[11]

YNG Dreamerz (2022–2023)

Ahead of the 2022–23 OTE season, Almansa was drafted by the YNG Dreamerz, one of six teams in a restructured league.[13] In his second season in the competition, he averaged 9.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, finishing fifth in the league in the latter category.[14] In the final regular-season game, Almansa recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to clinch the second seed.[14] He helped his team reach the championship series, where they lost to the City Reapers, led by twins Amen and Ausar Thompson.

NBA G League Ignite (2023–present)

On June 30, 2023, Almansa signed with the NBA G League Ignite.[15]

National team career

Almansa was selected to play at the 2021 FIBA U16 European Challengers, though Spain later withdrew from the tournament.

Almansa led the national under-17 team to a silver-medal finish at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain, which was their first-ever medal at the event.[16] He averaged 12.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game on 55.7 percent shooting and was named the tournament MVP – the first non-American player to ever win the award.[1][16] Spain lost in the final to the United States, with Almansa recording nine points, 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals in the 79–67 defeat.[16]

Just a few weeks after the U17 World Cup, Almansa represented the national under-18 team at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship in Turkey. He averaged 15.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 25 minutes per game, leading Spain to a gold medal and winning tournament MVP honors once again.[17] He became the first player to ever win tournament MVP awards at both the FIBA U17 World Cup and the FIBA U18 European Championship.[17]

References
  1. González, Raquel (July 12, 2022). "Izan Almansa, el MVP apadrinado por Pau Gasol". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. "Izan Almansa: la perla del baloncesto murciano" (in Spanish). Federación de Baloncesto de la Región de Murcia. February 4, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  3. Pacheco, Jorge (July 11, 2022). "Izan Almansa, el futuro del baloncesto español: el MVP que se forma en una 'liga de élite' para ir a la NBA". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  4. García-Muñoz, Sergio (June 12, 2017). "Un cinco de lujo: conoce a los integrantes del quinteto ideal del MARCA-Villa de la Roda". Gigantes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  5. "La cantera del UCAM Murcia vuelve a hacer historia". Murcia Actualidad (in Spanish). June 14, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  6. "Izan Almansa guía al UCAM Murcia hacia los octavos, en el Campeonato de España infantil". Murcia Actualidad (in Spanish). June 11, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  7. "El Real Madrid se lleva de Murcia a un 2,03 de 14 años, Izan Almansa". Gigantes.com (in Spanish). August 19, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. "Izan Almansa profile" (in Spanish). Real Madrid Baloncesto. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  9. "Real Madrid | Liga EBA 2020/21" (in Spanish). Spanish Basketball Federation. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  10. Zagoria, Adam (August 5, 2021). "Overtime Elite Signs Touted Spanish Power Forward Izan Almansa". Forbes. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  11. "Overtime Elite Roster 2022–23". Boardroom.tv. October 26, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  12. Givony, Jonathan (October 13, 2021). "Overtime Elite announces 2021–22 schedule, roster for inaugural season". Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  13. Feldman, Joseph (September 21, 2022). "OTE Announces Roster Reveal and Expansion for Season 2" (Press release). Overtime Elite. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  14. "Izan Almansa profile". Overtime Elite. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  15. "Tyler Smith & Izan Almansa Sign With Ignite". NBA.com. June 30, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  16. "Izan Almansa named TISSOT MVP after helping Spain win historic silver medal". FIBA. July 11, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  17. Givony, Jonathan (August 15, 2022). "The top 11 NBA prospects at the FIBA U18 European Championship". ESPN India. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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