The future of Brazilian basketball has become an expert in American pop culture: movies, TV shows, and even hit songs.
During his first professional season in the Brazilian Premier League, then 16-year-old Santos asked his most famous teammate, NBA Player of the Year Leandro Barbosa, what he had to do to reach the highest level in the sport. . Barbosa offered a laundry list of tips that included working hard and responding to criticism, but one of the highlights resonated with Santos: learn English.
As he answered questions Friday along with fellow Golden State project picks Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins during an introductory press conference at the Chase Center, Santos spoke fluent English — a testament to his many hours of studying American film, television and music. Watching in the crowd, Barbosa, now a coach for the Warriors players, felt like a proud father.
When he met Santos Barbosa in fall 2018, his NBA dream was just a dream. Now, thriving in one of South America’s best prospects, Santos hopes to make that fantasy a reality.
At 6-foot-8 and 209 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan and fast feet, Santos, who turned 20 last Wednesday, is the kind of project the NBA front-office covets: a versatile striker who can protect multiple positions, start attacking and look for Open colleagues. But as Barbosa reminded him in recent days, Santos still struggles to join the Warriors’ roster.
His inconsistent jump suggests that he needs at least another year or two of development before he can secure a guaranteed contract in the NBA. Determined to reclaim the bulk of their 2021-22 championship squad, the Warriors plan to hide Santos in Brazil or the G League this season.
“I keep telling him, ‘You can’t be comfortable in the NBA,'” Barbosa said of Santos, who is expected to join Golden State for the summer league. Now, you have to go one step further, and then another. It’s not easy. It’s a tough league.”
It boosts Santos’ chances that Barbosa will be there to help. Since the two seasons together in Minas in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the two have become close. In Santos, Barbosa sees little of himself – a grinder eager to use basketball to see the world and provide for his family.
When Barbosa joined Minas four years ago after a season with rival Franca and more than a decade in the NBA, he told Minas executives that the teenager who dominates the league’s youth ranks should train with the big club and sit on the bench for games. This is the only way Santos will become the face of the next generation of Brazilian basketball, Barbosa explained.
Although Santos rarely played for Minas during their time together, he pushed Barbosa in practice. Barbosa often arrived at practice two hours early only to find Santos was already awake. During the 5-on-5 squabbles, Barbosa encouraged Santos to offend him—not because Barbosa wanted the youngster off the ground, but because he needed Santos to understand the physique required by the National Basketball Association.
On team trips, Santos has asked Barbosa questions about everything from the 2015 Warriors Championship, to life as a millionaire in America, to duels with Steve Nash and Stephen Curry. Santos remembers Barbosa once telling him, “One day, you’ll also have a lot of NBA stories.” “Just focus on your career and don’t get distracted by girls or drinking.”
In September 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic interrupted Minas’ season and dashed his title hopes, Barbosa returned to the Bay Area for a position on coach Steve Kerr’s staff. Following him online, he was not surprised to see Santos make the Brazilian national team and emerge as one of Minas’ best players.
In addition to guarding the opponents’ top scorer last season, Santos often brought the ball up high and thrived on pick-and-roll strikes. But at the end of the NBA draft Thursday, his agent, Aylton Tesch, told him he would not be selected. A devastated and confused Santos lay in bed in Boca Raton, Florida, the house he was renting.
When he was about to fall asleep, he received a call from Tesch: the warriors were taking him in from fourth to last selection. As friends and family cheered, Santos thought of Barbosa, who recommended him highly to Golden State decision-makers during the preliminary draft process.
“When I was a kid, I always wanted to be like Leandro: play in the national team, go to the NBA,” Santos said. “It is a dream to have the opportunity to work with him, to be his mentor.
“Now, he is not only my mentor. He is my mentor in NBA. This is madness.”
Conor Letourneau is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: Tweet embed
