Bruno Fernando

BIOGRAPHY

Bruno Fernando was born on August 15, 1998, in Luanda, Angola. He is a power forward in the NBA.

A native of Luanda, Angola, Bruno Fernando started playing basketball in his hometown. While playing the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship with the Angolan national team, he caught the eye of scouts in the US. In early 2015, he joined the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He committed to Southern Methodist University in April 2016, but decided the following month to reclassify into the Class of 2017. He spent the 2016–17 season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In October 2016, Bruno Fernando committed to the University of Maryland, after also considering Auburn, Alabama and Florida State, among others.

Fernando made his debut for Maryland on November 10, 2017, against Stony Brook. Coming off the bench, he scored ten points to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in 13 minutes of playing time. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on January 8, 2018, after posting 17 points and 11 rebounds against Penn State and a career-high 21 points in a 91–73 win versus Iowa. He had a strong freshman season as he averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and earned All-Big Ten Freshman honors. After the season, Fernando declared for the 2018 NBA draft and participated in the NBA Draft Combine that year, but withdrew from the draft and returned to Maryland.

Fernando was selected as the 34th pick of the 2019 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Fernando became the first Angolan player to be selected in the NBA draft. He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. On July 7, 2019, the Hawks announced that they had signed Fernando. On October 24, 2019, Fernando made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 117–100 win over the Detroit Pistons with seven points, three rebounds and two assists. He received his first assignment to the Hawks’ NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, on November 25. He made his G League debut that evening. Fernando missed several games in January 2020 due to the death of his mother.

On August 7, 2021, Fernando was traded to the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade.