Gallinari: "This is my last national team. All I need to win is a medal for Italy. And then what? I don't know."

Of the most generous generation of Italian basketball talent, Danilo Gallinari was the greatest. Calling him an NBA talent would be an understatement: with hard work, he became a player averaging nearly 15 points in a 16-year NBA career (including a couple of seasons missed due to injury), even nearly reaching the All-Star Game. The happy twilight of a career as a big-time player has now brought him, at just 37 years old, his first team trophy—aside from a B2 title he won at 15 in Casalpusterlengo, which has been rediscovered online—in what might have been (who knows) the final stage of his journey, who knows?: the Puerto Rico championship, won as MVP, and therefore as a leading player, wearing the Vaqueros jersey, which is nothing more than a less sexy but much more Latin way of saying "cowboys."

Certainly, part "last dance" and part "farewell tour," it will be his last summer with the national team, he says. A check-up at the hospital with his wife Eleonora before leaving Puerto Rico after the incredible shark attack, and then the departure for Italy, perhaps to join the national team during the next phase of the training camp, which will be in Rome from Sunday to Tuesday. "How did I celebrate the title? I went home to my wife and children": a phrase that, even beyond the reasons for the horrific ordeal, says a lot about Gallo.

At the end of the match, Danilo posted a photo from Puerto Rico with his father Vittorio, who had arrived for the occasion, holding the cup, and the comment: “With what you won… I at least owed you this!”

"A lot, because dad has always been there for me. The only time I reached the conference finals, Covid was a problem and he couldn't travel. It's great that he was able to come this time. I won't reach his number of wins, but I was happy to share this joy with him."

In a career with so many individual accolades, how does a team trophy feel?

"It's wonderful. That's what you play for in a team sport, regardless of the individual results, regardless of the title. Think back to the moments of the season, the highs and lows, the journey you've made: finishing like this and sharing it all with your teammates is the best part."

What do you find of your father Vittorio and mother Marilisa in your being a parent?

"Definitely motivating and encouraging. My father told me 'Well done' once after a match in my twenty-year career. Perhaps I'm a bit like that by nature, perhaps somewhere between him and my mother, who told me that a few times more often; she's more affectionate. And like them, I'll let my children be free to do what they want: sport, their passions, they'll be the ones to choose."

I'm very humble in describing myself as a basketball player, but as a dad, I have to say I feel very good. Being nine years older than my brother, I always helped my mom a lot as a child, so I was always very knowledgeable about diaper changes. And I enjoy spending time with my kids in my free time: the Puerto Rican schedule is incredibly tough, they play almost every day like it's the NBA, but when I'm at home, I'm with them; there's no cell phone or anything else. To put it bluntly: I'm in one room and my phone is in another.

Has fatherhood changed the way you look at basketball?

"The thing that's changed is that I stay pissed off for less time. If I lose, or maybe I played badly, when I get home I've always been very critical of myself: I think about it, I keep thinking, that it's not good. Now I have the kids at home: you think about it less and you get over it more quickly."

A beautiful picture torn apart by the nightmare of the shark attack that his wife was the victim of a couple of weeks ago, in the hours before the start of the final.

It was shocking. These are things you see in movies, you think something like this could never happen. Then when it happens, you start to learn, and it's really rare for something like this to happen in a person's life. Despite the unfortunate outcome, we were lucky because in any given scenario, the worst could have happened, given that we were all in the water at the same time, and unfortunately, that's the thing my wife and I think about the most. Fortunately, Eleonora is doing better. There's a process, not just physically but also mentally, that we'll have to take calmly and gradually recover to get back to normality.

Puerto Rico was also much more.

Basketball is the national sport along with baseball; they thrive on it: on an island smaller than Sardinia, there are twelve teams, all with arenas seating 5, 10, or 12,000 spectators, a great organization, and an incredible following. Our fans are the largest and have followed us everywhere. The increase from two to three Americans per team has increased the level and popularity, causing the numbers to explode on TV and social media in a league that is growing rapidly and is a mix between FIBA rules and the NBA system with draft and salary cap. But it's also a league where you don't know when the season will start, whether in March or April, because it has a flexible schedule depending on the national team's commitments and the many players who also travel to China and Australia. A league where training takes place after 6:00 PM and games begin after 8:00 PM because most of the staff members also have other jobs.

It's a US protectorate, which makes it a very interesting environment culturally and politically: they're proud to be American, but in many ways it's like being in the 51st state of the United States: from the supermarket chains to the telephone lines to the use of the dollar. We lived in Old San Juan, an area always packed with tourists, where the world's largest cruise ships arrive. Rodolfo, two, has learned Spanish, and for Anastasia, four and a half, it's already her third language. I wasn't expecting such a beautiful and intense life experience; six months of fantastic cultural experiences. Should I continue? They've already asked me to stay here for at least five years: I wouldn't be able to do it physically, it's beautiful, but I don't know..."

How was your first year away from the NBA?

"I wasn't expecting it because my goal was to play one last year in the NBA. Months went by and nothing came of it. Once I realized that nothing would happen, I was so eager to play. Knowing I had to be ready for the national team, given the logistics of my hometown's proximity to Puerto Rico and my friendship with Arroyo, a minority shareholder in the Vaqueros, I made this choice."

Knowing the NBA like few others, what are your thoughts on the league's arrival in Europe?

I think it's a wonderful idea, but I don't know how or when it will materialize. I had the opportunity to attend some of the meetings held to understand the merits of this idea, and I chatted with people familiar with both organizations. I understand that things are slowly moving forward, and I think it could be a positive thing for an increasingly global movement like the NBA. The Euroleague is a wonderful league: I follow it, I have a lot of fun watching it, but if there's something the NBA can help with, hopefully we can work it out.

Her brother Federico, who works on Detroit's coaching staff, introduced her to the world of podcasts and YouTube, which also provided the opportunity for a few online reunions with friends.

"It's been a wonderful experience. We'll finish the third season and move on to the third. Fede has incredible enthusiasm, and that's the secret to everything. He forced me, but it's also a pleasure. I don't do much, but it's thanks to him that the podcast exists: he sends me a link, I click on it, and we chat for half an hour, then he does everything else. It started with the idea: we have tons of chats, talking about this and that, but if possible, why don't we make them public? Luckily, with so many acquaintances and friends in the basketball world, I send a message and almost everyone says yes."

After having just won your first trophy, what is missing from your career now?

"All I need is a medal with the national team and then I can be happy. It's also difficult to quantify what could have been and wasn't: I started with the national team when I was 17 or 18, when the 2004 Olympic team was still there, and of all the possible summers since then, I've missed eight. That's a lot. I wonder what could have happened if I'd played those eight too, but it's better not to think about it. Anything can happen in any summer, including this one."

Have you spoken to Pozzecco? What role do you see yourself playing in this group?

"We talked about everything. I don't want to put pressure on the guys, but honestly, I see a team that I think is strong and can do well. I expect a lot from this group. I'm excited about this, plus the fact that it will be my last time with the national team, which adds a bit of excitement."

"Yes, it will be my last summer with the national team. Knowing that gives you an extra boost. These are feelings that a club doesn't give you. I've been part of many different groups: in the beginning, I was the little one and I played with my idols, now I'm the veteran and I see the young guys who have created a special group, they're strong and talented. They keep you young."

Does it end here only with the national team?

“I don't know. Definitely with the national team.”

"Being a dad is awesome, it's beautiful. But when you wake up, it's essential to have goals. I'll be a little more present at home, but having new challenges is essential for me."

What's next after basketball?

"I have a few things to explore. In basketball and beyond. We'll explore them slowly and calmly. Family-wise, we'll have an important arrival in November: our third child. We're very focused on that right now."