With an announcement on social media, Danilo Gallinari said enough to playing basketball at the age of 37, ending a twenty-year career that established him as one of the greatest Italian basketball players. “Today, with a heart full of gratitude, I announce my retirement from a career I have always dreamed of… It has been an incredible journey full of countless memories that I will carry with me for a lifetime. To those who believed in me, to all those who supported me, thank you, from the bottom of my heart” wrote Gallo. It’s a goodbye to the pitch, but also a farewell full of emotion: a career marked by talent, sacrifice, resilience and an authentic passion for basketball.
Gallinari’s journey began in the Italian youth teams and then spent two years in Olimpia Milano, but it was in 2008 that the big leap occurred: selected as the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft, he began an overseas adventure. Over the course of over 15 seasons in the NBA, Gallinari wore the shirts of various franchises: from the New York Knicks of new coach Mike D’Antoni – where it all began – to the Milwaukee Bucks, passing through the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons.
If talent has never been lacking, Gallinari’s career has often been marked by stops and sacrifices. His seasons in the NBA, in fact, were affected by numerous injuries, yet Gallo was able to reinvent himself several times: adapting his game, remaining competitive, and demonstrating uncommon determination. Today, at 37 years old, he has decided to quit playing the parquet, declaring himself “more than excited for the next chapter!”.
In his career he played 777 regular season games, averaging 14.9 points per game. Despite the many transfers, Gallinari has managed to carve out a stable place among the League’s veterans, thanks to his three-point shooting, his offensive skills and an uncommon athleticism for a European big man. After his last season in the NBA with the Bucks in 2024, Gallinari didn’t give up: in January 2025 he signed with the Puerto Rican club Vaqueros de Bayamón, looking for a new challenge and – above all – a beautiful end to his career.
In the Vaqueros jersey he managed to win the first – and only – professional trophy of his career, decisively participating in the 2025 title of the Puerto Rican league and being named MVP of the Finals. A few weeks later, he announced that the summer of 2025 would be his last with the national team shirt: a journey – the one with the blue shirt – which began in 2006 but was alternating due to injuries which did not prevent him from being one of the main protagonists of the last 20 years in the blue shirt, playing in the Olympics, European Championships and World Cups and helping to bring the blue movement back to the highest international levels. In total with the blue shirt 83 appearances and 1,129 points.