FC Bayern point guard Leandro Bolmaro's career has seen him go back and forth to three continents, making him a young but well-traveled basketball nomad.
Bayern's Leandro Bolmaro on crisscrossing continents
Article
4 Mins read
At age 23, Leo Bolmaro has traveled to more places than most to follow his basketball dreams and make them come true.
Geographically, Bolmaro has played in three different continents and moved many thousands of kilometers between teams. In so doing, he has now entered his third Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season as a young basketball nomad.
Bolmaro started his career in his native Las Varillas, a small village of 18,000 inhabitants in his native Argentina. He moved 1,000 kilometers from there to start his career in Bahia Blanca. In 2018, Bolmaro signed a multi-year deal with FC Barcelona. In 2021, he went to the United States to play for two NBA teams, Minnesota and Utah, for two years. He then returned to Spain in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, for a few months. Finally, last summer, Bolmaro signed a two-year deal with FC Bayern Munich.
That is a lot of traveling and adjusting for a young player and, of course, it had an impact on him.
"It's tough because when you get used to one place, you have to move to another. And it's all the time like this. So it's tough to live this experience," Bolmaro said.
"But at the same time you learn the different things, different cultures. In the States, you have different, so different cultures than here, and then here you learn other things, so all this made me who I am today."
Spain: A logical first step
Bolmaro was 17 years old when he moved to Barcelona. He arrived to a enviable environment, as Barca is famous for taking good care of its young prospects. Bolmaro made his EuroLeague debut at age 19 and by the start of the 2020-21 campaign, he was already a full-time member of Barca's first roster.
Of course, Bolmaro missed Argentina at first, but speaking the same language and finding out there is a sizeable Argentinian community in Barcelona made things much easier for him.
"Leaving Argentina for me was tough. But then I got used to it. And I really like Spain, too. I feel at home there. So I really enjoyed it there," he said. "The same language, a lot of Argentinian people who I was with when I was there. It was pretty easy, the adaptation to the country."
Tougher transition to the United States
Bolmaro helped Barca make it to the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game, posting 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a losing effort against Anadolu Efes Istanbul. He moved to the United States the next summer but struggled to get quality playing time in Minnesota and Utah.
"It was a little tough. I didn't really get used to living in the States. It was kind of a different experience, but I think that I learned from it," Bolmaro said. "I got different experiences that helped me right now to be who I am. So I take it like a positive thing and to know for the future."
Going from sunny Barcelona to two very cold cities was new for Bolmaro and made the process tougher.
"It was so cold that you can't wear anything to cover that. But you get used to it," he said. "And also, usually, you don't go outside too much because you got from your parking at your house to the parking to the facility to the parking at the supermarket. So you didn't really go out."
Tips to move far away
Despite his early age, Bolmaro has a lot of experience on going from one place to another, so he is the right person to get some tips when it comes to long-distance moving. For instance, what to bring with you at first.
"First, my basketball things. Then all my clothes, and then I usually bring PS5 with me all the time," he said.
Another important tip: a hobby always helps. In Munich, Bolmaro is working on his DJ skills daily to disconnect from basketball as he settles into a new city.
"I like to mix music. I have a table DJ, so every day, I'm doing a little bit," he said "And then I like to play video games with friends, too, when my friends are available to play online with them. It's a thing to connect with them too. But yeah, I do a lot of things to take me out from basketball a little bit, and I think that helps me, too."