In an interview with Giuseppe Nigro of Gazzetta dello Sport, f0rmer NBA forward Danilo Gallinari said this year’s EuroBasket will be the final international competition of his long career. Gallinari, 37, played for eight teams during a 16-year NBA career that wrapped up in 2023/24. He’s currently with the Vaqueros de Bayamón in Puerto Rico.
“Yes, it will be my last summer with the national team,” Gallinari said. “Knowing this gives an extra boost. These are feelings that a club does not give you. I have been part of many different groups: at the beginning I was the little one and I played with my idols, now I am the veteran and I see the young guys who have created a special group, they are strong and talented. They keep you young.”
Gallinari is coming off a major victory this week in Puerto Rico, leading the Vaqueros to their 17th league title while being named Finals MVP. He hopes to duplicate that success with Italy to provide a memorable ending to his international career.
“I’m missing a medal with the national team and then I can be happy,” he said. “It is also difficult to quantify what could have been and was not: I started in the Azzurri when I was 17-18 years old when there was still the group of the 2004 Olympics, and of all the possible summers since then I have missed eight. There are many. It makes me think if I had played those eight what could have happened, better not to think about it. Every summer anything can happen, even this one.”
There’s more EuroBasket news to pass along:
- French center Vincent Poirier had to withdraw from EuroBasket due to injury concerns involving his right knee, writes Yann Ohnona of L’Equipe. France is already missing Victor Wembanyama, Mathias Lessort and Rudy Gobert, so the team will be undersized in the tournament.
- Dzanan Musa of Bosnia and Herzegovina may also have to miss the tournament after undergoing emergency surgery due to pain in his abdominal area, according to Eurohoops. “Dzanan expressed his desire to do everything possible to ensure his recovery and to leave room for a possible appearance at the upcoming EuroBasket, in line with his great desire to be with the team in Cyprus,” a representative of Musa told Radio Sarajevo. “In this situation, his appearance is certainly uncertain.”
- Serbia remained unbeaten in exhibition play with a 29-point win over the Czech Republic on Saturday, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who led the way with 20 points, believes his team is ready to make a strong run at the EuroBasket title, per Basket News. “We approached with respect and played with it. I think we could be a bit better, especially on defense, but that’s why we play friendly games,” he said.