NBA grow excited about Spain's Aday Mara during the All-Star Weekend: The sky's the limit for him

Aday Mara, the great promise of Spanish basketball at only 17 years old and 2.21 m. tall, stood out during the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp, a joint action between FIBA and NBA, which was held during the NBA All Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.

The Casademont Zaragoza center was chosen among the 12 best players who participated in the BWB Global Camp that brought together a selection of the most promising international players from around the world (40 players from 27 different countries).

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Aday Mara: The Spanish Wembanyama?

In the United States, Aday Mara, whose height (standing at 2.21m), mobility and understanding of the game was compared to the high-profile French player Victor Wembenyama.

LeBron James described Wembanyama as "an alien" as he aims for the no.1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

How the NBA sees Aday Mara: He's much more than a tall guy. The sky's the limit

Chris Ebersole, NBA Director of International Basketball Operations, discussed Aday Mara's role at the NBA's BWB Global Camp during the All Star Weekend: "I think he has a great chance to make it in the NBA.

A lot of teams already follow him and have a good impression of him. In 2015 we had Lauri Markkanen and Jamal Murray and we didn't know they could become NBA stars. He is on that path to being able to play in the United States and having a big impact with his future team."

Nacho Garcia recounts in 'El Periodico de Aragon' the words of the Head of Elite Basketball at NBA on the Spanish center: "He is a very special player, with unique fundamentals for someone of that size. He's much more than just a tall guy. Defensively, because of his height, he's a guarantee near the rim. But in today's NBA they're going to demand more mobility from him. It's always complicated for players that tall, at any level, but he's already shown that he can get a lot better at that too. For me, the sky's the limit."

Aday Mara's great impact on Spanish and international basketball

Teenager Aday Mara averaged 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in just over 10 minutes with Casademont Zaragoza in the Endesa League and has had some stellar moments in his breakthrough with the first team.

He made his ACB debut at the age of 17 years, 6 months and 9 days, demonstrating his enormous potential in his Casademont Zaragoza's 83-97 defeat against Cazoo Baskonia: 8 points (2 of 3 from 2 (two dunks), 1 of 2 free throws and 1 of 1 in three pointers), 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 19 minutes.

His international breakthrough came at the U-17 World Cup in Malaga, where he helped Spain win silver with stats of 12.6 points, 5 rebounds and 1.6 assists and a significant impact on the game.

Who is Aday Mara, the 2.20m promise of Spanish basketball?

Aday Mara was born on April 7, 2005 in Zaragoza. He is the son of basketball player Francisco Javier Mara (played five games in ACB with Basket Zaragoza between 1986 and 1988) and volleyball player Geli Gomez.

Nacho Duque published in MARCA.com that Aday Mara started out as a soccer goalkeeper, but at the age of eight he was already 1.67 meters tall and decided to take the leap to the sport of basketball.

The young Spanish talent started playing basketball at Basket Lupus, until he made the leap to the Casademont Zaragoza youth team.

In his youth development he has played in Club Baloncesto El Olivar (EBA League) and Levitec Huesca (LEB Oro).

He made his debut with Casademont Zaragoza on November 17, 2021 in a group stage tie of the Fiba Europe Cup.

How is Aday Mara viewed in the U.S. ahead of the NBA Draft?

Jonathan Givony, founder of DraftExpress, described Aday Mara after watching him live at the U17 World Cup as "exceptionally skilled for a player his age, he made outstanding passes from the low and mid post and from the perimeter. The high level of skill he shows can make him a serious NBA prospect as his career progresses."

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