By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The buildup to a brand-new European basketball league, widely referred to as NBA Europe, has gained a major endorsement from Italian basketball icon Danilo Gallinari. With the NBA partnering with FIBA to launch a 16-team competition by the start of the 2027-28 season, 37-year-old Gallinari voiced his strong support for the project.
“I like the NBA Europe project. I can’t wait for it to take shape,” he stated to Corriere della Sera on Wednesday. “The quality of European basketball is so high that it needs a system that works. The game, the fans, the packed arenas, they are all great. But while in the NBA it’s 50% basketball and 50% business, in Europe it’s 80% basketball and 20% business. The NBA can help fix this ratio.”
Though Gallinari officially retired in late 2025, wrapping up a decorated 20-year career as the highest-scoring Italian-born player in NBA history, he remains eager to shape the future of the sport. Now working as a media analyst for Prime Video’s coverage of the NBA Finals 2026, the former forward admitted he is actively contemplating a role in the upcoming European venture.
“I’d love to. It’s not easy, being in the United States, but it’s something I’m thinking about,” Gallinari answered when asked if he sees himself involved.
“It would be great to have one or two Italian franchises, Rome or Milan. Milan would be even better, for obvious reasons,” he added on possible franchises based in his home country.
Gallinari also reflected fondly on his NBA origins with the New York Knicks, the team that drafted him sixth overall back in 2008.
“It would be awesome,” he discussed his former team’s ongoing quest to capture their first championship since 1973. “The title hasn’t happened in ages. I can’t imagine what the players are going through. Winning in New York isn’t like with any other team. It becomes legendary. And who knows what the parade through the streets of the city can be like…”
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