Candidate Mara Gómez, the young Aragonese giant of Spanish basketball (2.20 tall and 2.35 wingspan, and with options to grow a little more still), he is already of legal age among the praise for his progression in the world of the basket in which he does not stop surprising day after day. Mara, son of former basketball player Francisco Javier Mara and volleyball player Geli Gómez, was born in Zaragoza on April 7, 2005.
Mara Sr. made his debut with the old CAI Zaragoza. He played five games between 1986 and 1988 sharing a dressing room with players of the stature of Fernando Arcega, Paco Zapata or Fran Murcia who made it very difficult for him to continue at the club, which is why he signed for clubs from the now defunct Primera B and Second. His mother was a historic volleyball player whose sporting career took place mostly in Tenerife and who became international.
Since he started in the world of basketball, Aday Mara drew attention for his height, but also for the talent that showed that, if they do not avoid injuries, he will surely take him to the NBA.
Many franchises from the best league in the world have their surprised eyes on the abilities of this young man who is the fourth player since the existence of the ACB who obtains more than 20 valuation credits before turning eighteen. The other three are already big stars and are active in the American League: Ricky Rubio, Luka Doncic and Usman Garuba. Mara achieved that mark against Monbus Obradoiro on March 11 with 15 points, 3 blocks and a PIR of 22.
The player from Zaragoza made his debut in the elite of Spanish basketball at the age of 17 years, 6 months and 9 days in the defeat of Casademont Zaragoza (83-97) against Cazoo Baskonia, on October 16, 2022. He scored 8 points (2 of 3 in shots of 2; 1/2 in free throws and 1/1 in triples), captured 4 rebounds and gave an assist in 19 minutes.
Mara had already made his debut on November 17, 2021 in a group stage match of the FIBA Europe Cup, kicking off what is presumed to be a successful career.
Aday started playing soccer as a child in the goalkeeper position, but at the age of eight he already measured 1.67 meters and ended up switching to basketball where he started at Basket Lupus, later entering the base categories of Casademont Zaragoza. In the 2020-21 season, at cadet age, he played in the Adidas Next Generation Istanbul Tournament in which he averaged 8.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. That same season he was loaned out to the subsidiary of the Maño team, Club Baloncesto El Olivar of the EBA League, where he averaged 6.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the almost 21 minutes he played on average.
He alternated training sessions with the first team when he was coach of the same Jaume Ponsarnau with whom he did the preseason and made his debut in LEB Oro that same year with Levitec Huesca, although he was requested by the team from Zaragoza to make his debut in a match against Reggio Emilia on the sixth day of the group stage of the Eurocup, barely a year before taking the final step towards professional basketball.
This season he has played 19 games playing an average of 11:33 minutes, 5.8 points and a PIR of 7.1 and since Porfirio Fisac took over the team to replace Martin Schiller he has always counted on him, except for reasons academics have prevented it.
Mara’s height and progression have been closely followed by numerous teams, including several NBA franchises, to incorporate him into their disciplines, but for now his family prefers that he continue in Zaragoza. Chris Ebersoledirector of International Basketball Operations for the NBA, recently highlighted that it is “very special, with unique fundamentals for someone of that size”. For Ebersole he is “much more than a tall guy.” He praised that his stature makes him defensively “a guarantee near the rim” and stressed that although he has to improve he can see that “the sky is his limit.”
“He has some unique abilities. He’s more than just a big player. He can shoot, pass the ball, make plays and it’s not normal for him to be able to do all of that with his size.”, has valued Ebersole, who has praised the work of the coaches he has had. “He can have a chance in the NBA,” said Ebersole, who explained that the teams that follow him are “excited” with him.
At the moment, physique, talent and attitude are leading him to a sporting growth that is being appreciated this season and it is only necessary that the injuries respect him and that his head does not go crazy amid so much praise, something that both his family and his the club try to avoid protecting the young player to reach the best league in the world. Mara, according to NBA estimates, will be selected in the first round of the 2024 draft.