Rafa Villar (basketball)

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Rafa Villar
Rafa Villar Lleida 2023 (cropped).png
Villar with Força Lleida in 2023
Baskonia
Position Point guard
Personal information
Born (2004-08-09) 9 August 2004 (age 20)
Barcelona, Spain
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Career information
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2024 FC Barcelona
2021–2022→FC Barcelona B
2022–2024→Força Lleida
2024–2025Força Lleida
2025–present Baskonia
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
U18 European Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Turkey U18 Team
U19 World Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Hungary U19 Team

Rafael "Rafa" Villar Cornago (born 9 August 2004), is a Spanish professional basketball player for Baskonia of the Liga ACB and EuroLeague. He has also represented the Spanish national team. Standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), Villar plays in the point guard position.

Contents

His younger brother Raúl Villar is a basketball player for the Charlotte 49ers.

Early life and youth career

Growing up in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Rafa Villar started playing basketball in the youth ranks of a local team, CB L'Hospitalet. [1] Villar joined the FC Barcelona youth ranks at the infantil category. [2] He made his way through the team's youth categories until reaching FC Barcelona B, playing in the Liga EBA. [3]

Professional career

Villar would make his professional debut in 2021, while still a FC Barcelona B player. He played his first minutes for the FC Barcelona first team in a EuroLeague game against Zalgiris in the 2021-22 season. [4] He would go on to make his Liga ACB debut in the 2022-23 season, in a game against Manresa. He would play two more Liga ACB games that season. [5]

In December 2022, Villar was loaned out to Força Lleida, which at the time was playing in LEB Oro. [5] After playing 27 games and reaching the playoffs, Villar's loan with the Catalans would be extended for an additional season. [6] In the 2023-24 season, Villar would win the LEB Oro playoffs and achieve promotion to Liga ACB with Força Lleida. [7]

In June 2024, Villar's tenure at FC Barcelona ended as the club decided against extending his contract. [8] Shortly after, in July 2024, Villar became a Força Lleida player once again as he joined the Liga ACB team as a free agent. He signed a 2 year contract with the Catalans. [9] On June 30, 2025, Lleida announced Villar had activated the exit clause of his contract, thus leaving the team before the start of the 2025-26 season. [10]

On July 1, 2025, Baskonia officially announced Villar as a new player, joining on a three season contract. [11]

National team career

Villar has played in several international tournaments with the youth ranks of the Spanish national team, winning the U18 European Championship in 2022 [12] and the U19 World Cup in 2023. [13]

He made his debut the senior Spanish national team in a qualifier game for EuroBasket 2025 against Slovakia. [1]

Awards and accomplishments

Spanish junior national team

References

  1. 1 2 Rubio, Andrés (26 November 2024). "L'hospitalenc Rafa Villar debuta amb la selecció espanyola de bàsquet". lhdigital.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  2. ↑ Aza, Héctor (2 July 2023). "El blaugrana Rafa Villar, campió del món sub-19". fcbarcelona.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "Rafa Villar, cedit al Força Lleida fins al final de la temporada". fcbarcelona.cat (in Catalan). 14 December 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "El Barça se sobrepone a las bajas y da un repaso al Zalgiris". El Periódico (in Spanish). 26 November 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 Gómez Mira, Noelia (16 December 2022). "Rafa Villar, el diamante del Barça que busca crecer en la LEB Oro con Força Lleida". Relevo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Rafa Villar tornarà a vestir de Bordeus la temporada 2023-2024". flleida.cat (in Catalan). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  7. ↑ Rubio, Andrés (9 June 2024). "L'hospitalenc Rafa Villar aconsegueix l'ascens a l'ACB amb el Força Lleida". lhdigital.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  8. ↑ "Finalitza la vinculació amb Sergi Martínez, Rafa Villar i Agustin Ubal". fcbarcelona.cat (in Catalan). 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "Rafa Villar és bordeus!". flleida.cat (in Catalan). 17 July 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "Gràcies Rafa. Sempre bordeus!". flleida.cat (in Catalan). 30 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Rafa Villar refuerza la dirección de juego de Baskonia". baskonia.com (in Spanish). 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Mena, Fran (7 August 2022). "Rafa Villar destroza a Turquía y España es campeona de Europa sub18 de baloncesto". rtve.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Pérez Ramos, Jesús (2 July 2023). "73-69: ¡España, campeona del mundo Sub 19!". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2025.
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