A seismic move has shaken Spanish basketball. In a stunning development, Real Madrid has decided that Pedro Martínez will be the man leading the team next season. Martínez arrives from Valencia Basket, where he enjoyed a remarkable campaign, winning both the Spanish Super Cup and the Liga Endesa title while also leading the club to its first-ever EuroLeague Final Four appearance.
The past few weeks have been marked by major changes within the Madrid organization, especially following the club’s surprisingly early playoff exit against La Laguna Tenerife in the Liga Endesa quarterfinals. That defeat left Los Blancos without a single trophy this season for the first time since 2010.
In response, club president Florentino Pérez moved to bring back Juan Carlos Sánchez as the top executive in charge of the basketball section, a decision that immediately led to the departures of former players Sergio Rodríguez and Martynas Pocius from the organization. This move provoked significant criticism among the club’s fans, but now Sánchez has wanted to make his first splash upon his return to the club.
What initially looked like a secure future for Sergio Scariolo has also taken a dramatic turn. Despite being under contract until 2028, the Italian coach is now expected to be dismissed in the coming hours. Scariolo’s departure, the former Spanish national team head coach, is expected to pave the way for Martínez’s arrival. The news was first reported by Marca on the very day the Catalan coach turned 65, only days after he guided Valencia Basket to the Liga Endesa championship. It was a historic achievement for the club, as Martínez had previously delivered Valencia’s only other league title back in 2017.
Martínez had recently signed a contract extension through 2028 and remains an enormously respected figure in Valencia, making this development a major blow to one of Spain’s fastest-growing basketball projects.
Until now, Valencia’s outstanding season had already resulted in the departures of several key players, including Brancou Badio to Panathinaikos, Braxton Key to Fenerbahçe, and Jean Montero, who is widely expected to join Olympiacos in the coming days. Jaime Pradilla has also reportedly received a significant offer from Real Madrid.
Yet none of those exits has left a wound as deep among Valencia supporters as Martínez’s departure. Real Madrid is expected to pay around €1 million in compensation to secure the coach’s release.
The Catalan coach is expected to sign a three-year deal with Madrid, finally erasing one of the few remaining question marks from an already distinguished career. Widely regarded as one of Spain’s finest coaches, Martínez has now completed his 34th season coaching in the ACB, accumulating an extraordinary 1,103 games on the sidelines.
And yet, despite his long résumé, he had never coached either Real Madrid or Barcelona… A notable gap that will finally disappear. What makes the move even more surprising is that Martínez had repeatedly been linked with Barcelona over the years, but almost never with Madrid. Martínez arrives at Real Madrid at arguably one of the best moment of his coaching career, fresh off being named EuroLeague Coach of the Year.
Valencia Basket played some of the most exciting basketball in Europe this season, built around relentless pace, ultra-fast offensive possessions and, at times, suffocating defensive pressure. That identity reached its peak during the Liga Endesa Finals, where Martínez’s team clearly outplayed a much older Barcelona roster that simply could not cope with Valencia’s pace and intensity.
Now, with Real Madrid entering a major rebuilding phase, implementing a similar style in the Spanish capital appears to be a realistic possibility. However, Martínez will also have to work around the presence of Edy Tavares, one of the defining pieces of Madrid’s roster. While the Cape Verdean center naturally affects how fast a team can play, he also provides enormous value on both ends of the floor and remains arguably the most dominant center in European basketball.
In any case, Real Madrid is expected to undergo significant roster changes heading into next season. It will be fascinating to see whether the club targets players who fit the style Martínez developed in Valencia or whether the coach himself will need to adapt his approach to maximize the talent available to him in what, to the surprise of virtually everyone around Spanish basketball, will be his next destination.
Spanish basketball’s offseason has certainly started with a bang. And it will be difficult to imagine another move over the coming weeks carrying anywhere near the same impact.
