Danilo Gallinari averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 777 regular season games
Danilo Gallinari didn’t have much to go on when his name went into the 2008 NBA Draft. Gallinari had been born in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, on Aug. 8, 1988 (hence his choice of jersey number 8). His father, Vittorio, had played professionally there, and Gallinari, by age 19, stood 6-foot-9 and was a top international prospect.
But his country’s NBA roots were meager. Only five native Italians before him had dipped a toe in league waters and only two recent arrivals, Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani and journeyman Marco Belinelli, had played more than 30 games by the time the New York Knicks selected Gallinari with the No. 6 selection.
More than 17 years later, Gallinari announced his retirement from basketball this week. He leaves having played 20 seasons professionally, 16 with NBA teams. His career was spread across eight different franchises – three years with New York, six with Denver, two with the LA Clippers, two with Atlanta and shorter stints with OKC, Washington, Detroit and Milwaukee.
Today, with a heart full of gratitude, I am announcing my retirement from the career I’ve always dreamed of.
It’s been an incredible journey filled with countless memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 🏀❤️ pic.twitter.com/UjRhTL8ZdP
— DANILO GALLINARI (@gallinari8888) December 2, 2025
He missed two full seasons, in 2013-14 with the Nuggets and 2022-23 with the Celtics, after twice tearing the same anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He had back surgery as a Knicks rookie and battled a variety of other ailments – elbows, ankles, hands, Achilles tendons – that limited him to 68 or fewer games in all but two seasons.
But he retires as one of only 299 NBA players to last 14 or more seasons. And the sweet-shooting power forward who flexed a game of both finesse and physical play, he ranks as one of the league’s international success stories. Gallinari leaves as the all-time leader among Italian imports in scoring (11,607 points), rebounds (3,618), 3-pointers (1,456) and minutes (22,410), as well as second in assists, steals and blocked shots.
Gallinari, now 37, retires to business interests and free time with his wife Eleonora and their three children. He appeared in 777 NBA regular-season games and another 51 in the playoffs, advancing as far as the conference finals only once (Atlanta, 2021). His last appearance was a four-minute cameo for the Bucks in the 2024 first round against Indiana.
But Gallinari got one more season out of his body, helping Vaqueros de Bayamón to the Puerto Rican league championship in August, earning the Finals MVP trophy after beating Leones de Ponce in five games.
In a Zoom interview Thursday morning with nearly three dozen international sports journalists, Gallinari fielded questions about his career from his home in South Florida. A majority of them were asked and answered in Italian, but here is an edited recap of the English queries:
NBA media: What went into your decision to retire and the timing of it now?
Gallinari: After [playing in September for] the national team, I wanted to take my time. I honestly had a lot of offers on the table … from around the world. I love traveling – traveling is my passion. So for me to play in countries that I’ve never been to was honestly very exciting. But at the end of the day, I was, you know, ready with my mind and with my body to just call it a day.
When you came into the NBA, what were your expectations? For yourself, and also what you thought this league was going to be like for you? Did you meet your expectations, or did this turn out differently?
Well, I had a lot of expectations for myself. Of course, at the beginning, you don’t know how the NBA is until you actually play and experience [it]. My first year, I wasn’t able to play many games [but my second year] I was able to play the full season. That’s when I really understood what the NBA is and what player I could be. That’s where my confidence really built up and when I started thinking, “OK, I can be very good and I can stay here for many years.”
It was an amazing ride. I like to think I’m always positive and optimistic, so I don’t like to think about what could have been. That is a huge question. We can all fantasize about what could have been, but it’s wasted time. So I like to think about how beautiful a journey it was. I’m proud I gave everything I had. That’s what a player should do and not have any regrets.
As one of the most consistent and successful European players in the NBA, we’re seeing nowadays that European players are the best players in the NBA. Like [Nikola] Jokić, Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Luka [Dončić]. Do you feel that you are one of the guys who paved the way for those guys and the growth of European basketball?
I feel very proud. When I came into the league, the Americans were always so much better, right? So now the level in Europe is very high and we are producing so many talents that are at MVP level. [It has been] amazing to be a part of the … process. Good to see. I’m a big fan of all the players that you mentioned. The Americans need to step up a little more because, you know, we have a lot of Europeans that are [in] the MVP conversation every season.
There was a guy who came to play with you in 2015 with the Nuggets. How was it playing with Jokić those two years in Denver? Did you see his rise to becoming one of the best players in the world?
I didn’t see all this. By the end of my second season with him, I saw he was going to be a very good player. But I definitely didn’t see that he was going to be the best player in the world. And in my opinion, he is the best player in the world. When you play for so many years and you see the young generation coming in, it’s – at least for me – amazing to see the development. And for that team I played with, Jamal [Murray] and Nikola, to see them both rise and become champions … it is amazing.
You grew up as a Boston Celtics fan because your dad [Vittorio was a teammate on the Olimpia Milano squad with Danilo’s first NBA coach, Mike D’Antoni] was a Celtics fan. Unfortunately, you tore your ACL before you could play a game for them in 2022-23. Is that something you regret, that you could not play for your favorite franchise? Are you happy that you at least got to spend some time in Boston?
I try not to think about it too much. But of course, it would have been the perfect situation at the perfect time to play for a championship for my favorite franchise. It didn’t work out as I wanted, but I had a great time in Boston with the fans, with the city, especially with the people who helped me rehab from the ACL. When you need to recover, you actually spend more time in the gym. I was able to build relationships that I think are very important, not just build them for work. When they come to play in Miami – I live here now – I always see them for lunch or dinner or coffee, which is great.
As you sit here today at age 37, your career is in the books, your achievements, all your experiences – what would you say to 20-year-old Danilo as he was about to embark on this basketball journey? What’s your best wisdom or advice?
Listen to my body. Learn more about my body. And don’t just say “Yes” to everything. When you’re young and being drafted, they [didn’t] consider what I’d been through the season before. I finished my last season in Italy in August [2008, so] I never rested. After the playoffs against Sienna, I had two days off. Then flew to the States to start working out and working out and working out.
I think of my physical therapist and my strength coach I had in Italy. … Probably I wouldn’t have had the injuries and problems I had. When you are young, you want to show [but] what you can do when your body is not ready.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.