Sergio Llull

Sergio Llull Melià (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo ˈʎuʎ];[1] born November 15, 1987) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Liga ACB. He is a 6 ft 3 3⁄4 in (1.92 m) tall point guard-shooting guard.

Sergio Llull
Llull in a game with Real Madrid, in 2017
No. 23 – Real Madrid
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1987-11-15) November 15, 1987
Mahón, Balearic Islands, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34th overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career2005–present
Career history
2005–2007Manresa
2005–2006→Finques Olesa
2007–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
2012 LondonTeam
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
World Cup
2019 China
EuroBasket
2009 Poland
2011 Lithuania
2015 France
2013 Slovenia
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
2007 Slovenia & ItalyTeam
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
2004 SpainTeam
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Llull and the second or maternal family name is Melià.

Llull is a two−time All-EuroLeague Team selection, and was the EuroLeague MVP of the 2016–17 season. As a regular member of the senior Spain national team, he has won a FIBA World Cup title, three EuroBasket gold medals, as well as a bronze. He also won two Summer Olympics medals, a silver in 2012, and a bronze in 2016.

Professional career

Early years

Llull began his career playing for the La Salle Maò and CB i Unió Manresana junior clubs as a youth. He made his professional debut with the Spanish ACB League club Manresa during the 2005–06 season. He also played with the Spanish 4th Division club Finques Olesa that season, on loan. He returned to Manresa, and played in the Spanish 2nd Division in the next season.

Real Madrid

Llull joined the Spanish EuroLeague club Real Madrid in 2007. In 2009, Real Madrid exercised a club option to extend his contract for another 2 years. In 2010, Llull extended his contract with Real Madrid through the year 2014.[2][3]

He was named the MVP of the final of the mid-season three game 2012 Spanish King's Cup tournament. Later that year, Llull extended his contract with Real Madrid once again, this time through the 2017–18 season.[4]

In the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid won the EuroLeague championship, after defeating Olympiacos by a score of 78–59 in the 2015 EuroLeague Final.[5] Real Madrid eventually finished the season by also winning the Spanish League championship, after a 3–0 series sweep in the Spanish League Finals series against Barcelona. By winning the Spanish League championship, Real Madrid won the triple crown.[6] Llull was named the Spanish League Finals MVP of 2015.

In the Summer of 2015, Llull once again extended his contract with Real Madrid, this time through the 2020–21 season.[7] The 6-year contract extension was at a per season salary of €2.7 million euros net income per season, and his contract included a record buyout option of €25 million euros (USD$28.64 million as of February 3, 2019 exchange rate), the highest buyout amount ever in European club basketball history.[8]

Llull was named the EuroLeague MVP of the 2016–17 season.[9] In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague season championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the final game, by a score of 85–80.[10] Llull missed most of the season due to a torn ACL injury,[11][12] only to come back into the team's rotation at the Final Four, where he helped his team to grab their second EuroLeague title in four seasons.

NBA draft rights

Llull was chosen by the Denver Nuggets, with the 34th pick in the 2009 NBA draft. The Houston Rockets then bought his draft rights from the Nuggets, for approximately $2.25 million, which at the time made him the most expensive player ever to be purchased during the draft's second round.[13] On November 27, 2020, Llull's draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks.[14]

National team career

As a member of the junior Spain national basketball teams, Llull won the gold medal at the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and he won the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He has also played with the senior men's Spain national basketball team.

Llull won the gold medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, three gold medals at the EuroBasket, in 2009, 2011, and 2015. He also won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2013, and the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Player profile

Early in his career, Llull was known for his straight line speed, jumping ability, and open court fast break dunks. Later in his career, he has been known for his long-distance 3 point shooting, and clutch shots. Llull averaged a PIR of 16.8 in the EuroLeague, during the 2016–17 season.

He can play at either the point guard or shooting guard position. He spent the early part of his club EuroLeague career playing as a shooting guard, and then switched to the point guard position later in his club career. In the senior men's Spain national team, he has mainly played at the shooting guard position.

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

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.

† Denotes seasons in which Llull won the EuroLeague

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Real Madrid 1528.1.370.000.789.4.9.2.12.31.7
2008–09 19419.0.468.380.9261.12.2.5.26.96.6
2009–10 18121.1.521.418.7241.22.01.0.19.59.4
2010–11 232228.0.401.343.8412.33.0.8.111.910.8
2011–12 161122.2.427.295.7191.53.2.6.07.47.0
2012–13 272527.0.396.339.7812.33.2.6.110.49.2
2013–14 313129.1.466.338.7961.84.1.6.011.412.0
2014–15† 303027.5.439.379.8211.75.8.8.110.413.9
2015–16 242327.8.378.350.8071.84.6.7.212.812.5
2016–17 333327.8.416.330.8471.85.9.7.116.516.8
2017–18† 4018.0.361.375.500.54.5.5.010.06.5
2018–19 272021.4.358.321.9582.04.0.4.010.59.3
Career 24018225.0.426.348.8091.73.8.7.110.710.9

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career
  • Liga ACB (Spanish League) champion (6×):
2007, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020
2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020
2015, 2018
2015
2015

Spanish junior national team

Spanish senior national team

Individual awards

References
  1. "Liga ACB Pronunciation Guide". ACB.com. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  2. "REAL MADRID, Llull agree until 2014". Euroleague.net. July 19, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  3. "Sergio Llull signs contract extension through 2014". Realmadrid.com. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  4. "Real Madrid, ufficiale il rinnovo di Sergio Llull". Sportando (in Italian). November 1, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  5. "Real Madrid is Euroleague champion for record ninth time!". euroleague.net. May 17, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  6. "Real Madrid make it 4 out of 4". marca.com (in Spanish). June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  7. "Real Madrid re-signs star guard Llull until 2021". Euroleague. July 6, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  8. Cámara, Millán (March 2, 2017). "Por qué Sergio Llull no se marchará a la NBA". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  9. "Madrid's Llull is crowned the 2016-17 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP!". Euroleague. May 20, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  10. "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  11. "MVP Llull out indefinitely with torn ACL". Euroleague. August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  12. Pinilla, J.I. (August 10, 2017). "Sergio Llull out of Eurobasket after suffering ACL tear". Diario AS. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  13. Sardinero, David (November 10, 2009). "Sergio Llull es la segunda ronda más cara de la historia del 'draft' de la NBA". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  14. "Knicks Sign Austin Rivers". NBA.com. November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
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