Izan Almansa

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Almansa and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.
Izan Almansa
No. 8 – Perth Wildcats
PositionPower forward / center
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (2005-06-07) 7 June 2005 (age 19)
Murcia, Spain
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Real Madrid B
2021–2022Team OTE
2022–2023YNG Dreamerz
2023–2024NBA G League Ignite
2024–presentPerth Wildcats
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Spain
FIBA U19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2023 Hungary Team
FIBA U17 World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2022 Spain Team
FIBA U18 European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2022 Turkey Team

Izan Almansa Pérez (born June 7, 2005) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).

Early life and youth career

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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

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Team OTE (2021–2022)

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On 5 August 2021, Almansa signed with the 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)

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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 (2023–2024)

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On 30 June 2023, Almansa signed with the NBA G League Ignite.[15] In his team debut on 10 November, he recorded seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 107–102 loss to the Ontario Clippers.[16] Almansa recorded his first double-double two weeks later against the South Bay Lakers, putting up 22 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.[17] He was chosen to compete in both the Rising Stars Challenge and the G League Next Up Game at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.[18] In 48 games with the Ignite, Almansa averaged 10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 54.3 percent shooting.[18]

On 23 April 2024, Almansa announced that he had declared for the 2024 NBA draft;[19] his entry was confirmed by the NBA on 2 May.[20] However, he subsequently withdrew his name on 16 June to explore options in Europe and Australia.[21]

Perth Wildcats (2024–present)

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On 29 June 2024, Almansa signed with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), joining the team as part of the league's Next Stars program for the 2024–25 season.[22]

National team career

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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.[23] 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][23] 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.[23]

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.[24] He became the first player to ever win tournament MVP awards at both the FIBA U17 World Cup and the FIBA U18 European Championship.[24]

In November 2024, Almansa was named in a Spanish senior national team squad for a pair of FIBA EuroBasket qualifier games against Slovakia.[25]

Personal life

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Almansa received the Princess Leonor Award – given to the best under-18 Spanish athlete – from the King of Spain, Felipe VI, at the 2022 Premios Nacionales del Deporte.[26]

In 2023, Almansa enrolled at the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia to pursue his Bachelor of Business Administration through an online program specially developed for athletes in concert with the Spanish Olympic Committee.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g González, Raquel (12 July 2022). "Izan Almansa, el MVP apadrinado por Pau Gasol". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Izan Almansa: la perla del baloncesto murciano". FBRM.org (in Spanish). Federación de Baloncesto de la Región de Murcia. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. ^ Pacheco, Jorge (11 July 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 8 May 2023.
  4. ^ García-Muñoz, Sergio (12 June 2017). "Un cinco de lujo: conoce a los integrantes del quinteto ideal del MARCA-Villa de la Roda". Gigantes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  5. ^ "La cantera del UCAM Murcia vuelve a hacer historia". Murcia Actualidad (in Spanish). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Izan Almansa guía al UCAM Murcia hacia los octavos, en el Campeonato de España infantil". Murcia Actualidad (in Spanish). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  7. ^ "El Real Madrid se lleva de Murcia a un 2,03 de 14 años, Izan Almansa". Gigantes.com (in Spanish). 19 August 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Izan Almansa profile". RealMadrid.co (in Spanish). Real Madrid Baloncesto. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Real Madrid | Liga EBA 2020/21". FEB.com (in Spanish). Spanish Basketball Federation. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  10. ^ Zagoria, Adam (5 August 2021). "Overtime Elite Signs Touted Spanish Power Forward Izan Almansa". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Overtime Elite Roster 2022–23". BoardRoom.tv. October 26, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Givony, Jonathan (13 October 2021). "Overtime Elite announces 2021–22 schedule, roster for inaugural season". ESPN.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  13. ^ Feldman, Joseph (21 September 2022). "OTE Announces Roster Reveal and Expansion for Season 2". OvertimeElite.com (Press release). Overtime Elite. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Izan Almansa profile". OvertimeElite.com. Overtime Elite. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Tyler Smith & Izan Almansa Sign With Ignite". NBA.com. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  16. ^ García, Dioni (11 November 2023). "Izan Almansa debuta en la NBA G League con 7 puntos y 7 rebotes y en el cinco titular". La Opinión de Murcia [es] (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  17. ^ Maestre, Mike (26 November 2023). "Izan Almansa empieza a explotar su potencial en la G-League". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  18. ^ a b "2024 NBA Draft Profile: Izan Almansa". NBA G League. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  19. ^ González, Raquel (23 April 2024). "Izan Almansa se presenta al Draft NBA". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  20. ^ "NBA announces early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2024". NBA. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  21. ^ Duque, Nacho (16 June 2024). "Izan Almansa retira su nombre del draft de la NBA". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Spanish sensation joins Wildcats as Next Star". Wildcats.com.au. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "Izan Almansa named TISSOT MVP after helping Spain win historic silver medal". FIBA.basketball. FIBA. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  24. ^ a b Givony, Jonathan (15 August 2022). "The top 11 NBA prospects at the FIBA U18 European Championship". ESPN India. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Wildcats Next Star Almansa set for Spanish senior debut". Perth Wildcats Offical Website. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Izan Almansa recibe de manos del Rey el Premio Princesa Leonor" (in Spanish). Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Izan Almansa Joins UCAM to Study a BBA Online". Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
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