Former NBA first-round pick Usman Garuba has joined Real Madrid on a three-year contract, the Spanish team announced in a press release.
The move had long been expected. Reporting in May indicated that Garuba was expected to sign with Real Madrid this offseason, but he responded by saying he had yet to make a decision. In mid-July, Spanish reporter Carlos Sanchez Blas (Twitter
links) said that the free agent had a long-term deal in place with Madrid, and that time Garuba didn’t deny it, so we’ve just been awaiting formal confirmation from the team.
The 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Garuba was born and raised in Madrid and was under contract with his hometown team from 2017-21, so this represents a reunion for the two sides. He played in the NBA for three seasons from 2021-24, appearing in 99 games across two seasons in Houston before being traded to Atlanta and then to Oklahoma City during the 2023 offseason.
After he was waived by the Thunder, Garuba caught on with the Warriors, spending most of the 2023-24 season on a two-way contract before being promoted to Golden State’s standard roster ahead of the team’s regular season finale. He played in just six regular season contests for the Warriors.
Garuba’s overall contributions across 105 NBA outings (three starts) have been modest. He averaged 2.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 11.7 minutes per night, making 46.7% of his shots from the floor (including 36.3% of his three-pointers). The big man also played a limited role for Spain in this year’s Olympics, averaging 13.4 MPG off the bench for the national team.
The 22-year-old figures to see more significant action in Madrid, where he’ll team up with fellow newcomer
Serge Ibaka in the club’s new-look frontcourt that will reportedly no longer feature
Guerschon Yabusele.
Real Madrid is coming off a season in which it went 28-6 in Spanish League (ACB) play and 27-7 against EuroLeague competition. Madrid won the ACB title and nearly achieved the feat in the EuroLeague as well, but fell to Panathinaikos in the championship game.
