Bruno Fernando

Bruno Fernando
Bruno Fernando
Born	Bruno Afonso David Fernandes; August 15, 1998 (age 28); Luanda, Angola
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2017–present
Known for	First Angolan NBA player, member of Angola national basketball team

Bruno Afonso David Fernandes, commonly referred to as Bruno Fernando (born August 15, 1998), is a professional basketball athlete from Angola currently playing for Partizan Mozzart Bet. He competes in the Serbian League (KLS), the ABA League, and the EuroLeague. Fernando played collegiate basketball with the Maryland Terrapins. Notably, he is Angola’s first NBA player and represents the Angola national basketball team, securing a gold medal at AfroBasket 2025.

Early life

Born and raised in Luanda, Angola, Bruno Fernando started his basketball journey locally. His performance at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship while representing Angola garnered attention from scouts in the United States. In early 2015, he enrolled at Montverde Academy located in Montverde, Florida. Initially, he committed to play for Southern Methodist University in April 2016 but later reclassified to the Class of 2017. During the 2016–17 season, he attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. By October 2016, Fernando pledged his commitment to the University of Maryland, having also evaluated offers from schools including Auburn, Alabama, and Florida State.

Fernando’s first game for Maryland took place on November 10, 2017, facing off against Stony Brook. He contributed ten points, two rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal within 13 minutes of play. On January 8, 2018, he was honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Week after tallying 17 points and 11 rebounds versus Penn State, followed by a career-best 21 points in a victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. During his freshman year, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game and earned All-Big Ten Freshman recognition. Post-season, Fernando declared for the 2018 NBA draft and took part in the NBA Draft Combine but opted to withdraw and return to Maryland for another year.

Atlanta Hawks / College Park Skyhawks (2019–2021)

In the 2019 NBA draft, Fernando was picked 34th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, marking him as the first Angolan ever drafted into the NBA. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks and officially signed with them on July 7, 2019. Fernando’s NBA debut occurred on October 24, 2019, where he scored seven points alongside three rebounds and two assists during a victory against the Detroit Pistons. On November 25, he was assigned to Atlanta’s NBA G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, making his debut with them that same evening. In January 2020, Fernando missed multiple games due to a family loss.

On June 20, 2021, Fernando received a one-game suspension without pay after leaving the bench during a confrontation between the Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Boston / Maine Celtics (2021–2022)

Fernando was traded to the Boston Celtics on August 7, 2021, as part of a three-team transaction involving the Sacramento Kings. He made his first appearance for the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, on November 19, 2021, scoring four points while shooting perfectly from the field.

Houston Rockets (2022–2023)

On February 10, 2022, the Houston Rockets acquired Fernando, Enes Freedom, and Dennis Schröder from Boston in a trade that sent Daniel Theis to the Celtics. Fernando secured a two-way contract with Houston on July 26, 2022, which was subsequently upgraded to a four-year agreement worth $10.9 million by October 2. He earned his first starting role on October 19, contributing seven points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

Return to Atlanta and College Park (2023–2024)

Fernando, along with Garrison Mathews, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks on February 9, 2023. In exchange, the Rockets received Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky, and two future second-round draft selections. The Hawks released Fernando on July 30, 2024.

Toronto Raptors (2024–2025)

On August 4, 2024, Fernando signed with the Toronto Raptors. Throughout the 2024–25 NBA season, he participated in 17 games, starting twice, and averaged 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists before being waived on January 7, 2025.

Real Madrid (2025)

Fernando joined Real Madrid on January 24, 2025, competing in Spain's top-tier league, the Liga ACB, as well as the EuroLeague.

Partizan Mozzart Bet (2025–present)

On October 26, 2025, Fernando signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet, participating in the Serbian League (KLS), the ABA League, and continuing his involvement in the EuroLeague.

National team career

Fernando made his international debut at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, where he averaged 9.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game representing Angola. He advanced to Angola’s senior national team in 2016 and competed at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Belgrade. That same year, he led Angola to victory at the 2016 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship, posting averages of 18.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game—performance that earned him Afrobasket.com’s U18 Best Player distinction.

Following his participation in the 2018 Olympic Qualifiers, Fernando returned to national team duties in August 2022 for Angola’s World Cup qualifying games. He played a pivotal role during FIBA AfroBasket 2025, assisting Angola in capturing its twelfth gold medal and securing a place on the FIBA AfroBasket All-Tournament Team.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta | 56 || 13 || 12.7 || .518 || .135 || .569 || 3.5 || .9 || .3 || .3 || 4.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta | 33 || 0 || 6.8 || .409 || .000 || .682 || 2.4 || .3 || .1 || .1 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 20 || 0 || 2.9 || .500 || 1.000 || .800 || .8 || .2 || .0 || .2 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Houston | 10 || 0 || 9.4 || .707 || .000 || .579 || 4.0 || .3 || .1 || .8 || 6.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Houston | 31 || 4 || 11.7 || .516 || .000 || .682 || 3.9 || 1.0 || .2 || 1.0 || 4.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta | 8 || 0 || 5.2 || .579 || .000 || .833 || 1.9 || .1 || .0 || .4 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta | 45 || 2 || 15.2 || .583 || .000 || .667 || 4.3 || 1.0 || .6|| .6||6.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Toronto |17||2||8.6||.531|| || .750||3.0||1.1|| .2|| .5||3.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |220||21||10.6||.543||.122||.653||3.2||0.7||0.3||0.5||4.0

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;" | 2021 | style="text-align:left;" | Atlanta |6||0||2.0||.667||—||1.000||.2||0.0||0.0||0.0||1.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall |6||0||2.0||.667||—||1.000||.2||0.0||0.0||0.0||1.0

University Career

|- | style="text-align:left;" | 2017–18 | style="text-align:left;" | Maryland |30||20||22.4||.578||.333||.740||6.6||.7||.4||1.2||10.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2018–19 | style="text-align:left;" | Maryland |34||33||30.0||.607||.300||.779||10.6||2.0||.6||1.9||13.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Total |64||53||26.4||.595||.308||.763||8.7||1.4||.5||1.6||12.0

External links