Former Atlanta Hawk Danilo Gallinari officially retired from the game of basketball today after 16 seasons in the NBA.
Gallinari was drafted sixth to the Knicks in the 2008 draft and had a journeyman career following, spending time with the Nuggets, Clippers, and Thunder before his Atlanta tenure and Washington, Detroit, and Milwaukee afterwards.
Gallo is known for many things, but arguably the most iconic moment in his career came as a Hawk. He had a massive role on the Cinderella-esque 2019-20 Thunder squad that finished fifth in the West despite trading All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Unfortunately for Gallinari, the Thunder looked to tank following this season, allowing the Italian forward to sign with the Hawks in the 2020 offseason.
While many feared giving a 32-year-old a 3-year, $60 million deal would tank the long-term outlook of this team, he provided a much-needed veteran presence to the young Hawks squad.
Gallinari will be remembered fondly by Hawks fans
Gallinari didn't light up the box score as a Hawk, tallying 13.3 points and 4.1 assists in his most productive season. Still, who knows where the Hawks would be without Gallo?
He was a critical part of Atlanta's magical 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run, the run that allowed the Hawks to go all-in on the Trae Young era. His peak performance came against the 76ers in the East Semifinals, where he dropped 16 and 17 points in Atlanta's final two victories to secure an ECF appearance.
Of course, no moment was more important than his series-clinching backtap steal on Joel Embiid. With 50 seconds remaining in Game 7 and the Hawks up 4, the MVP runner-up got a switch off sixth-place DPOY Clint Capela and onto Gallo, who was known for being a defensive liability at this stage in his career. Embiid had Gallinari on skates at first, following the late switch, then got to his spot with no help in sight. It looked like the Sixers were going to take this game down to the wire.
In a classic veteran move, Gallinari let Embiid spin off him into the open space, only for Gallo to get an improbable steal from behind. The ball flew directly to Kevin Huerter, who threw a hit-ahead pass to a clunkily-sprinting Gallo (this might've been the longest sustained sprint he had as a Hawk). The newly retired Italian forward finished the play to extend Atlanta's lead to six, a lead Philadelphia was unable to come back from.
Strictly looking at the box score, Gallinari was just another average veteran on a young team with no real playoff goals. But Gallo was so much more than just another vet presence. After all, how could you forget the mohawk he rocked during the 2021 postseason?
Hawks fans will remember him fondly as he rides into the sunset of his NBA career.