Juan Carlos Navarro (basketball)

Early life

Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo was born in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.

FC Barcelona

Navarro started playing for FC Barcelona at the age of 17, making his Spanish ACB League debut on November 23, 1997. That year he was selected to attend the Nike Hoop Summit, but he stayed in Europe, playing for the Barcelona pro team. He was not on the Spanish junior national team that won the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim in 1998.

With the acquisitions of Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fučka in 2003, FC Barcelona won all the competitions they played in that year. It was the first time the club won the EuroLeague. By winning the Spanish ACB League, the Spanish King's Cup, and the 2002–03 Euroleague all in the same year, Barcelona won the coveted Triple Crown championship that year.

With Barcelona, Navarro has been on Liga ACB (Spanish League) championship teams eight times: 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014; the Spanish King's Cup winners six times: 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013; the Spanish Supercup winners five times: 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015; the Korać Cup champions once: 1999; and the EuroLeague champions twice: 2003 and 2010. Navarro has helped Barcelona reach the EuroLeague Final Four seven times: 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Navarro has been selected to the All-EuroLeague Team seven times: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2006, Juan Carlos Navarro earned the regular season Most Valuable Player award of the ACB. He was named the ACB Finals Most Valuable Player in 2009 and 2011. He was named the EuroLeague MVP in 2009, and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2010.

He played with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA for one season, in 2007–08, then re-signed with FC Barcelona in the summer of 2008, on a 4-year €9.5 million euros net income contract with a €10 million euros buyout. The contract also included an optional fifth year, which brought the total contract to €12 million euros net income.

In 2012, Barcelona picked up the fifth optional year of his contract (€2.5 million euros net income) and extended him for another two additional years, at a salary of €2.6 million per season after that, bringing the total to €7.7 million euros net income over three years.

Over the 2014–15 season, Navarro experienced several problems with his right leg. In late December 2014, it was announced that he would miss up to six weeks of action, due to a torn muscle in his right thigh. On June 29, 2015, it was announced by Barcelona that Navarro would miss three months of game action, due to plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Those injuries negatively impacted his performances over the season, in which he had averages of 10.5 points and 3.1 assists per game, on 37% shooting from the field overall, in 17 EuroLeague games.

Memphis Grizzlies

Playing for FC Barcelona with Sasha Djordjević, Artūras Karnišovas, Rony Seikaly, Pau Gasol and Šarūnas Jasikevičius helped make Navarro a better player and he became one of the most promising young European players early on in his career with Barcelona. All NBA mock drafts started to set him as a first round pick.

In the 2001–02 season Navarro was plagued by injuries and the Washington Wizards drafted Navarro in the second round (40th pick overall) of the 2002 NBA draft. Navarro declined the offer, preferring to stay with FC Barcelona.

On August 3, 2007, the Washington Wizards traded the Navarro's draft rights to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a future first-round draft pick. Navarro would be reunited with former FC Barcelona and Spanish national teammate Pau Gasol on the Grizzlies.

In his rookie NBA season, Navarro was one of the Grizzlies' team leaders in three-point shooting (.361). He was named to the 2007–08 NBA All-Rookie Second Team, after averaging 10.9 points per game.

On June 18, 2008, Navarro signed a four-year deal worth €9.5 million euros net income (with an optional fifth year that would bring the total contract to €12 million euros net income) with Barcelona, his former team.

A qualifying contract offer that was tendered to Navarro by the Memphis Grizzlies was eventually rescinded on September 10, 2009. This allowed the Grizzlies to sign former NBA MVP Allen Iverson.

Junior national team

In the summer of 1998, Navarro was a member of the Spanish junior national team that won the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He was one of "The Golden Generation" boys of Spain (along with future NBA players Pau Gasol and Raúl López) that defeated the United States' junior national team at the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

Senior national team

Navarro played with the senior Spanish national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He also played at the EuroBasket 2001, where he won two games during the tournament with buzzer beaters. He scored 27 points during the bronze medal game against Germany.

At the EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden, Navarro won a silver medal with the Spanish national team. In Spain's seventh-place finish in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he scored 18 points in Spain's loss against Team USA.

At the EuroBasket 2005, the Spanish team, playing without Pau Gasol, finished in fourth place. Navarro was the second leading scorer of the tournament, with an average of 25.2 points per game, finishing behind only Dirk Nowitzki.

In August 2006, he played on the Spanish national team that won the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, as they defeated Greece in the final, after the Greeks had earlier defeated Team USA, in their semi-final, 101-95.

In September 2007, Navarro and Spain lost against Russia in the gold medal game at the EuroBasket 2007, held in Madrid, on Spain's home floor. Navarro was a member of the Spanish national team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Navarro scored 18 points in the gold medal game that Spain lost against Team USA.

As the defending champions, Spain retained their European crown at EuroBasket 2011. Navarro led his team with a game-high 27 points in the championship game over France. He earned All-Tournament Team accolades, along with his teammate, Pau Gasol, and he was named the EuroBasket MVP.

Navarro won a silver medal with Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also played at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

Career statistics

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

Club honours

Spanish national team

Individual awards