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List of Italian NBA players

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Andrea Bargnani was selected by the Toronto Raptors as the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league in North America. This list comprises all Italian players who have played in the NBA since its foundation in 1946. Each player's entry includes the seasons he spent in the league, the teams he played for, the number of appearances he made (both in regular season and playoffs) and his draft information. The list also includes players who were born outside of Italy but hold Italian citizenship or have represented the Italian national team in FIBA-sanctioned competitions, as well as Italian-born players who acquired another nationality at some point. Players who were born in Italy to foreign parents and never held Italian citizenship are not included.

By the aforementioned criteria, 11 Italian players have played in the NBA. The first Italian-born player to feature in the league was Hank Biasatti, who appeared in six games for the Toronto Huskies during the 1946–47 season and subsequently was picked by the Boston Celtics in the 1947 draft; Biasatti, however, was a Canadian citizen by naturalization at the time of his debut, having moved to Canada with his parents as a child.[1] In the 1970 draft, Dino Meneghin was selected as an 11th round pick by the Atlanta Hawks, thus becoming the first Italian- and European-raised player to be drafted by an NBA team; nonetheless, Meneghin was never signed.[2] In 1989, Mike D'Antoni became the first player with NBA experience to represent Italy in international competitions, being selected to the Italian squad for the European Championship; an American citizen by birth, D'Antoni had been playing in the Italian League for 12 years and had been granted Italian citizenship due to his Italian ancestry.[3] On November 12, 1995, Stefano Rusconi became the first Italian-raised player to play in the NBA, as he made his debut for the Phoenix Suns. In the 2006 draft, Andrea Bargnani was selected by the Toronto Raptors as the first overall pick, being the first—and to date only—Italian and European player to be drafted first overall.[4]

Marco Belinelli is currently the all-time leader among Italians in both regular season and playoff games played, with 860 and 65 respectively. Belinelli was also the first Italian to both play in the NBA Finals and win an NBA Championship, having done so as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.[5][6]

Key

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Pos. G F C
Position Guard Forward Center
* Denotes player who is still active in the NBA

Players

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Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2021–22 season.

Player NBA career Games played NBA draft Notes Ref.
Name Pos. Team(s) played Years[nb 1] RS PO Year Pick Team
Paolo Banchero* F Orlando Magic (2022–present) 2022–present 72 — 2022 1st Orlando Magic Italian-American[nb 2] [8]
Andrea Bargnani F/C
3 teams
 2006–2016 550 11 2006 1st Toronto Raptors — [9]
Marco Belinelli G
9 teams
 2007–2020 860 65 2007 18th Golden State Warriors — [10]
Hank Biasatti G Toronto Huskies 1946–1947 6 — 1947 n/a Boston Celtics Italian-Canadian[nb 3] [11]
Mike D'Antoni G
2 teams
 1973–1976 130 4 1973 20th Kansas City–Omaha Kings Italian-American[nb 4] [13]
Luigi Datome F
2 teams
 2013–2015 55 3 2009 Undrafted — [14]
Travis Diener G
3 teams
 2005–2010 179 2 2005 38th Orlando Magic American-born Italian[nb 5] [16]
Vincenzo Esposito G Toronto Raptors 1995–1996 30 — 1991 Undrafted — [17]
Simone Fontecchio* F
2 teams
 2022–present 52 — 2017 Undrafted — [18]
Danilo Gallinari* F
9 teams
 2008–present 728 48 2008 6th New York Knicks — [19]
Nico Mannion G Golden State Warriors 2020–2021 30 — 2020 48th Golden State Warriors Italian-American[nb 6] [21]
Nicolò Melli F
2 teams
 2019–2021 105 3 2013 Undrafted — [22]
Stefano Rusconi C/F Phoenix Suns 1995–1996 7 — 1990 52nd Cleveland Cavaliers — [23]

Other draftees

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The following players were drafted but either never played or have yet to play in the NBA.

Player Pos. Year Pick Team Notes Ref.
Augusto Binelli C 1986 40th Atlanta Hawks — [24]
Alessandro Gentile G 2014 53rd Minnesota Timberwolves[nb 7] — [26]
Dino Meneghin C 1970 182nd Atlanta Hawks — [27]
Riccardo Morandotti F 1987 136th Atlanta Hawks — [28]
Gabriele Procida F 2022 36th Detroit Pistons — [29]
Matteo Spagnolo G 2022 50th Minnesota Timberwolves — [30]

Notes

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  1. ^ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
  2. ^ Banchero was born in the United States to an African-American mother (Rhonda Banchero) and an Italian American father, thus being able to acquire Italian dual citizenship through ancestry.[7]
  3. ^ Biasatti was born in Italy and grew up in Canada, where he acquired Canadian citizenship through naturalization.[1]
  4. ^ D'Antoni was born in the United States to Italian American parents and he acquired Italian dual citizenship through ancestry; he represented Italy internationally.[12]
  5. ^ Diener was born in the United States and he acquired Italian dual citizenship through marriage; he represented Italy internationally.[15]
  6. ^ Mannion was born in Italy to an American father (Pace Mannion) and an Italian mother, thus being an Italian-American dual citizen by birth; he represented Italy internationally.[20]
  7. ^ Draft rights traded to the Houston Rockets on draft night.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Hank Biasatti". Windsor Public Library. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Stankovic, Vladimir (December 17, 2011). "Dino Meneghin, the eternal champion". euroleague.net. Euroleague. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Stankovic, Vladimir (November 3, 2012). "Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's first "European" head coach". euroleague.net. Euroleague. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  4. ^ "Raptors take Bargnani with No. 1 pick". ESPN. ESPN Inc. June 29, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  5. ^ "Marco Belinelli: the first italian player in NBA Finals". italiangoodnews.com. June 4, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  6. ^ McCafferty, Hugo (June 18, 2014). "Italian Marco Belinelli makes NBA history". swide.com. Swide. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  7. ^ "Who is Paolo Banchero? Italian-American picked first by Orlando Magic in 2022 NBA Draft 2022 - Top things to know". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Paolo Banchero". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Andrea Bargnani". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "Marco Belinelli". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  11. ^ "Hank Biasatti". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  12. ^ "Mike D'Antoni". nba.com. National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  13. ^ "Mike D'Antoni". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  14. ^ "Luigi Datome". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  15. ^ "Travis Diener è italiano, la Nazionale di basket sogna" [Travis Diener is Italian, the national basketball team is dreaming]. melty.it (in Italian). meltygroup. May 29, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  16. ^ "Travis Diener". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "Vincenzo Esposito". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "Simone Fontecchio". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Danilo Gallinari". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  20. ^ "Nico Mannion". nba.com. National Basketball Association. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "Nico Mannion". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  22. ^ "Nicolò Melli". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  23. ^ "Stefano Rusconi". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  24. ^ "1986 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  25. ^ "Rockets get 53rd pick Gentile from T-Wolves". csnhouston.com. Comcast. June 26, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  26. ^ "Alessandro Gentile". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  27. ^ "1970 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  28. ^ "1987 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  29. ^ "2022 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  30. ^ "2022 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
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