Danilo Gallinari

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Danilo Gallinari (Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, August 8, 1988) is an Italian basketball player, currently playing for Olimpia Milano in the Italian Lega A.^[1] He is 2.05 meters tall and plays as a small forward, but he can play as a shooting guard and as a power forward.

He started playing as a professional player in 2004 for Casalpusterlengo, a team in the Italian Serie B League. In 2005, Gallinari was selected by Armani Jeans Milano and played for Edimes Pavia in the Italian LegADue (Serie A2) championship 2005-2006 . In 2006, he was recalled by his team Armani Jeans Milano to play in the 2006-2007 Italian Lega A championship and the European Uleb Cup.

Even though he played only half of the season, in 2006 he was nominated best Italian player of LegADue championship.

Basketball is in Gallinari's blood. His father, Vittorio Gallinari, was an important basketball player and played for Olimpia Milano, Pallacanestro Pavia, Virtus Bologna and Scaligera Basket Verona.

He is currently listed as a mid-first round lottery pick by several NBA scouts and GMs^[2]. His recently-signed contract with Olimpia Milano has an escape clause to the NBA, which virtually creates no hurdles to his passage to The NBA.

He made instant impact on courts around the continent this season and has been rewarded with the Euroleague 2007-08 Rising Star Trophy.