Joventut (2002–2008) at the
2008 ACB Playoffs. Rudy Fernández won the 2005 and 2007
Catalan Tournaments, the 2006
FIBA EuroChallenge championship, the 2008
Spanish King's Cup title, and the 2008
EuroCup championship, while playing with
DKV Joventut of the
Spanish ACB League. He also won numerous personal awards while playing with DKV Joventut, such as the 2004
Spanish King's Cup MVP, the 2006
FIBA EuroChallenge Final Four MVP, the
EuroLeague 2006–07 season's
Rising Star award, the 2008
Spanish King's Cup MVP, the 2008
EuroCup Finals MVP, and the 2007
Catalan Tournament Final MVP. He was also named the 2006
FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year. In July 2007, his contract with Joventut was extended through the year 2011, however his contract was bought out early in the year 2008 so that he could join the
NBA. On his exit out of the club he paid tribute to his DKV coach,
Aíto García Reneses, "All I know of basketball is thanks to Aíto García Reneses", he said. He became the eighth Spaniard to play in the NBA. For the
2008–09 NBA season he joined several other fellow Spaniards in the league that included
Pau and
Marc Gasol,
Jose Calderón, and Trail Blazers teammate
Sergio Rodríguez. He entered the NBA following his participation with the
Spain national team at the
2008 Olympic basketball tournament in
Beijing, China. Fernández played in his first regular-season NBA game on 28 October 2008, coming off the bench to score 16 points in a 96–76 Portland loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers. On 12 November 2008 Rudy scored 25 points in 29 minutes against the
Miami Heat, including 8 of 8 from the free throw line adding to his already 92% FT shooting to set a new NBA career high. On 18 January 2009 it was announced that Fernández had won the fan voting and was picked the fourth dunker to go to the
NBA Slam Dunk Contest as part of the
2009 All-Star Weekend. During the contest, he paid tribute to the late Trail Blazer
Fernando Martín by wearing his #10 jersey. Fernández was eliminated in the first round of the competition, after what some thought was biased judging. On 9 March 2009, against the
Los Angeles Lakers, Fernández was taken off the court in a stretcher after Trevor Ariza hit him on the head on a fastbreak attempt. Fernández was alert and conscious when leaving the court with full movement of his extremities, however, he was taken to the hospital due to chest pain. He was released from the hospital the next day with a bruised chest and a right
hip pointer. Fernández was selected to the
NBA All-Rookie Second Team on 30 April 2009. He set NBA rookie records for number of three-point field goals made (159), hitting a three-point field goal in 33 consecutive games, and making a three-pointer in his first 20 career NBA games. On 16 October 2009 Blazers announced that they had exercised the third year of their option on Fernández's contract, keeping him with the team through the 2010–11 season. In December 2009, Fernández underwent
microdiscectomy surgery for a
herniated disc that was causing
leg pain. On 20 August 2010 Fernández was fined $25,000 for "public statements detrimental to the NBA," a day after his agent publicly demanded a trade from the Blazers. On 17 December 2010 he hit 9-of-15 shots and four 3-pointers for a career-high 26 points with six assists in a 107–102 win against
Minnesota. Fernandez along with teammate
Patty Mills donated 50% of the proceeds from their jerseys sales, throughout the month of January, to help those affected by the
floods in Australia. Fernández had a season-high eight assists on 22 January to go with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes off the bench as a
PG in the 97–92 win against
Indiana. Disappointed Fernández and his team, for the third consecutive time, exited the first round of the
playoffs, this time against the
Dallas Mavericks. Fernández struggled offensively for a good part of the year, but his improved play in other areas of the game has earned him praise from his peers. Blazers head coach
Nate McMillan, who isn't known to hand out compliments easily, singled out his defensive play in the second half of
Game 4 against the Mavericks as the key to the 84–82 win. Fernández signed for a reported salary of 2.7 million
euros net income per season, the largest contract in Spanish league history, at that time. His deal also gave him the option to return to Real when his NBA contract ended.
Denver Nuggets (2011–2012) During the 2011 NBA Draft Rudy Fernández was traded to the Mavericks in a three-team trade. However, he never played for the Mavericks, as he was traded with
Corey Brewer to the
Denver Nuggets on 13 December 2011. The Mavericks received a second-round draft pick and a traded player exception. He played 31 games for Denver before suffering a season-ending back injury. In July 2012, Fernández announced he would not return to the NBA, opting for a 3-year deal with
Real Madrid Baloncesto.
Return to Real Madrid (2012–2024) On 4 July 2012 Fernández returned to Real Madrid by signing a three-year deal worth 9 million euros net income. In May 2014, alongside his teammate
Sergio Rodríguez, he was named to the
All-EuroLeague First Team of the
EuroLeague, the second consecutive in his career. On 14 August 2014 he signed a three-year extension with Real Madrid, to stay in the club until 2018. In May 2015, he was chosen to the
All-EuroLeague Second Team for his performance during the season. Real Madrid won the
EuroLeague 2014–15 season championship, after defeating
Olympiacos, by a score of 78–59 in the
final game. Real Madrid finished the season winning the
Spanish League 2014–15 season championship, after a 3–0 series sweep in the ACB finals against
Barcelona. With that trophy, they finished the season having won the
triple crown. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the
2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating
Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the
final game with 85–80. Over 30 EuroLeague games, Fernández averaged 7.5 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. One month later, the club won the
Spanish league after a 3–1 series win against
Baskonia. Fernández was named
MVP of the finals. On 2 July 2018 he signed a two-year extension with Real Madrid, to stay in the club until 2020. On 16 August 2024, Fernández retired from basketball. ==National team career==