Recently, we have started to see fewer players still competing in the NBA who were drafted during the 2000s.
That total will decrease slightly today, as another name from that draft era has announced their retirement from the sport.
Former Knick announces retirement from basketball after 16 years
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced that Danilo Gallinari was retiring from the sport.
Gallinari played 14 full seasons in the league, with two gap years from when he had major injuries (2013-14 & 2022-23).
His longest stints were with the Nuggets (6 years) and the Knicks (3 years), but he’s played for eight teams in his career.
Some of his best seasons came with other teams, though, averaging a career-high 19.8 points in the 2018-19 season with the Clippers and 18.7 points with the Thunder in 2019-20.
Gallinari, born in Italy, is one of the best players to come out of the country, with the highest career points averaged by an Italian NBA player, except for Paolo Banchero, who is Italian but was born in Washington.
Outside of the teams mentioned before, Gallinari also played for the Hawks, Wizards, Bucks and Pistons.
He was originally drafted by the Knicks, sixth overall, in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Outside of the NBA, Gallinari had also spent time in the Euroleague, as well as playing for his home country in the Olympics and at the FIBA World Cup.
Gallinari last played in the league with the Bucks in the 2023-24 season.
