Gigantes del Basket, the eternal magazine

In November 1985, Basket Giants made his first publication. Many more would come later: 38 years of basketball in which some of the greatest successes in the history of this sport were reviewed and experienced. He went through the Split triplet in the Euroleague, the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, the European successes of Joventut and Real Madrid and a glorious decade that led to an even greater era, the most incredible that basketball has ever experienced. Spanish.

There gave way to the generation of the Gold Juniors, the international successes, the power of women’s basketball, the incursion of the NBA and the budding career of a Pau Gasol who would write some of the most important pages ever. AND the wonders of the Spanish National Team, which Giants always featured in the foreground: 15 medals in the women’s section and 20 in the men’s section from 1985 until now. Four of them in the Olympic Games, three silver and one bronze combined. And the constant review of current events, with more Spaniards than ever spread across the five continents and a talent that allows us to reach all places in the world.

Basket Giants enters the Spanish basketball Hall of Fame after 38 years of permanent coverage. “It is the recognition of a medium that has witnessed almost everything good that has happened to Spanish basketball, both in the men’s and women’s teams. The golden years of Spanish basketball, including the arrival of players to the NBA, the generation of the Golden Juniors and all the medals in subsequent years, as well as the successes, have had Gigantes as a common denominator“, David Sardinero, director of the magazine, tells uswho attended AS on the occasion of his entry into the Hall of Fame.

For the journalist, there is “documentary and journalistic value” in Giants that “It expands every month and every day“.”Those of us who work at the magazine have the responsibility of taking care of what we do as much as possible. This section of Spanish basketball cannot be understood without the presence of Gigantes. We have a legacy to care for. Gigantes was there even in the moments when it was not easy to communicate“adds Sardinero, who recognizes that it is an honor to enter the Hall of Fame and appreciates the recognition.

“We can see it from a historical point of view, but also from the current point of view. After all, it is a specialized and professional medium. There are very good general sports media that cover current events and explore new formats, but Gigantes specializes in basketball. And the people here work, get paid and dedicate themselves to it. That’s why it’s something different in Spain. And all this is unfortunately: I wish there were many more“says Sardinero.

Giants tIt was published weekly from its first publication until October 2012, when after 1,405 issues, it became published monthly.. For Sardinero, who joined the magazine a year later (and became director in 2015) “The move from weekly to monthly was necessary. A paper publication has processes and times that first you don’t know and then you are not used to. People are used to immediacy and having the analysis almost in real time and paper has a physical process that takes some time. A real format was chosen to have things more relaxed. The magazine tries to give a more timeless touch“, says a director who also thinks that the role is not going to disappear in the short term in the profession. “I defend that there will continue to be space for small niches and small productions.“.

The future of Giants It is as hopeful as its past was. Before it was a magazine, now it is much more: there is a website, it organizes summer camps in which 3,000 children spread across 20 different provinces participate and it does work that accompanies the brand. That does not mean, as Sardinero says, that the magazine continues to be cared for in its physical format. But the growth will take place both in the magazine and in other fields that, although not seen as much at a journalistic level, are important to look at the future: “We want it to continue to be a reference paper publication and, at the same time, to see growth in other avenues of development.“says Sardinero. Basket Giants It is an indispensable part of the history of Spanish basketball. And now, many years (decades) later, he achieves great recognition. The golden brooch. The Hall of Fame.