Now Rudy Fernández, the Real Madrid legend wears one after taking a liking to Dubai Basketball, its new professional team now rubbing shoulders with European elites in the EuroLeague.
A two-time World Cup winner and a two-time Olympic silver seller with Spain, Fernández is hugely impressed by how Dubai Basketball has performed in the Euro League and the ABA League.
Last season, in its inaugural campaign, Dubai Basketball made the ABA League playoffs — an impressive feat for a new team.
Dubai Basketball, which has some former NBA stars alongside Euro League stars, playing in their first season of the EuroLeague since they were inspired by ABA Leauge success last year.
Two leagues at the same time is no picnic, yet Dubai Basketball have kept up their excellent form across both and are producing fantastic results.
Guided by head coach Jurica Golemac, the side is a difficult proposition to break down all over the pitch, but especially in front of their fans at the magnificent Coca-Cola Arena, where until now they have only lost once throughout their Euro League campaign this season.
Among the clubs pursuing a way inside the Coca-Cola Arena fortress was Real Madrid — a team whose EuroLeague-winning campaigns in 2015, 2018 and 2023 Rudy Fernández played pivotal roles in.
Now retired from the sport in 2024 and a helpless spectator at Coca-Cola Arena earlier this month, Fernández watched as Dubai Basketball claimed a stunning 93-85 victory against Real Madrid to keep their hope alive for a top-10 finish.
However, the 40-year-old manager still managed to shower praise on Dubai Basketball for transforming themselves into a competitive side at such a rapid pace.
“For (us) Real Madrid, it was important to play here in Dubai for the first time. Dubai Basketball is a very good project, so I believe that this country has a good opportunity to produce well basketball players. I believe it was a great experience for us, to get closer to the fans and the other cultures,” Fernández said.
Dubai Basketball had the lofty intention of expanding the sport in the nation and even has built an extensive fanbase with each home game seeing large crowds.
The 7,000 fans who attended the Real Madrid game at Coca-Cola Arena provided that jolt for the team to chase big wins and a spot in the play-in showdown which will pit teams ranked between seventh and 10th against one another for two remaining playoff spots.
Although Dubai Basketball has already secured a place in the ABA League playoffs, they currently sit 11th in the standing of the Euro League with ten matches to go.
Six of those remaining 10 games will be played at Coca-Cola Arena, their fortress.
Fernández, whose former Real Madrid teammate Džanan Musa has since emerged as a go-to player for Dubai Basketball, is confident the new team can become a daunting assignment both at home and on the road for the big guns.
“He is now one of the leaders in the team representing Dubai, Mousa. He is a great player. I talked to him a lot about this project. He’s really excited to be part of this project,” Fernández said.
“The project is extremely ambitious, they have some fantastic players in their squad. “I think they’ve got a bright future.”
Fernández also stopped by Real Madrid World in Dubai, meeting fans and signing autographs for aspiring young cagers.
“It was amazing to bring the Real Madrid basketball fans in Dubai closer. It has been great to see how big Real Madrid is even in this part of the world,” he said.
“I know basketball is a huge thing here, which is great to witness. I think having Abu Dhabi host the NBA pre-season games and Dubai Basketball in the Euro League is great for the fans here and great for this area of the world.”