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SALT LAKE CITY — One of the more fun parts about blowout wins is that it provides a chance to hear from some of the players deeper on the bench for the Utah Jazz.
After most games, it's pretty important to get the thoughts of Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, etc., but that's not really the case following a 38-point win over a tanking Portland Trail Blazers team.
So instead of Utah's All-Stars, it was Utah's movie star that got to speak to the media. And, yes, we do mean that literally.
Juancho Hernangomez co-stars alongside Adam Sandler in the upcoming Netflix movie "Hustle." In the film, Sandler plays a basketball scout who discovers an overseas player (Hernangomez) to come play in the NBA.
The film, which is being co-produced by LeBron James, features plenty of NBA players like Kyle Lowry, Anthony Edwards and even Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson. On set was when Hernangomez first spent time with his now-teammate Clarkson.
"It was amazing. It was really fun," Hernangomez said of filming the movie. "Once in a lifetime experience, and I am so glad I did it. You guys will see it in June. I mean, it was really fun."
Hernangomez said he was approached for several months about the starring role opposite Sandler, but was initially reluctant. It was early 2020 and he had just been traded to Minnesota and was coming into his own as an NBA role player. The timing was just off.
"My dream is always to be a basketball player; basketball is my love," Hernangomez said. "And I never wanted to be an actor — never crossed my mind. So they asked me for several months and I tell my agent, like, I don't want to do it."
Then the NBA got shut down due to COVID-19 and his schedule was suddenly quite open. In fact, he was longing for something to do.
"I was at home in Charlotte with my brother and my sister and we were really bored. We were so boring. And I did it more for my family to do something," Hernangomez said.
Eventually, he was on a Zoom meeting and a casting call, and on set next to Sandler, Robert Duvall, Ben Foster and Queen Latifah.
"Now I am an actor in a movie," he said. "It's crazy how life goes."
So crazy that he now has a movie star friend in Sandler. Hernangomez said Sandler, who is a basketball junkie, will text him daily about games, and the two will get together whenever Hernangomez is in Los Angeles.
"After the movie, we are really close," he said. "When I go to LA, we go play golf together or I go to his home. … He's just a normal guy. He just loves to have fun. He's so funny. He's so low-key. I love his energy. … I think both of us together, we did a great job."
"Hustle" will be released June 10.
