Luigi "Gigi" Datome (born 27 November 1987) is an Italian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Standing at , he played at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions. Datome was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Professional career

Early years

Born in

Montebelluna Montebelluna is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, Italy, approximately northwest of Venice. It has an estimated population of 31,000. Montebelluna borders the following municipalities: Altivole, Caerano di San Marco, Cornuda, Crocetta del Montello ...

to Sardinian parents from

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

, Datome moved to

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, where he started playing junior basketball. He joined

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

of the first division

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

in 2003. He played three and a half seasons for Montepaschi before joining

Scafati Basket Scafati Basket, known for sponsorship reasons as Givova Scafati, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Scafati, Campania. The club competes in the top level Italian professional basketball league, the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Hi ...

in February 2007.

Virtus Roma (2008–2013)

In 2008, Datome signed with

Virtus Roma Virtus Roma 1960, commonly known as Virtus Roma, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. The club, named Pallacanestro Virtus Roma competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for decades until 2020, whe ...

where he went on to earn the league's Best Under 22 player award for the 2008–09 season. In 2012–13, he was named the

Lega Basket Serie A MVP The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual award of the 1st-tier professional basketball league in Italy, the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), given since the 1993–94 season, to the league's most valuable player In ...

, after averaging 16.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Detroit Pistons (2013–2015)

On 16 July 2013, Datome signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. On 23 December 2013, he scored a season-high 13 points in a 115–92 win over the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. On 14 January 2015, Datome was assigned by the Pistons to the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anahe ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. On 20 January, he was recalled by the Pistons.

Boston Celtics (2015)

On 19 February 2015, Datome was traded, along with

Jonas Jerebko Jonas Jerebko (; born March 2, 1987) is a Swedish professional basketball player who last played for the Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He was selected as the 39th overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA ...

, to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, in exchange for

Tayshaun Prince Tayshaun Durell Prince (born February 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player for the National Basketball Association (NBA). The small forward graduated from Dominguez High School before playing college bas ...

. On 15 April, in the Celtics' final regular season game, he earned his first career NBA start; Datome responded with a career- and game-high 22 points, leading Boston to a narrow victory over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

Fenerbahçe (2015–2020)

On 14 July 2015, Datome signed a two-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In his first season with the team, Datome won the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

with a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the final game of the 2016 Euroleague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

96–101 loss to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. Over 29 EuroLeague games, he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

championship. On 5 July 2017, Datome signed a three-year contract extension with Fenerbahçe. In

2017–18 EuroLeague The 2017–18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 18th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

, Fenerbahçe made it to the

2018 EuroLeague Final Four The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, the 61st season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 18th season since it was organised by Euroleague Baske ...

, its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance. Eventually, they lost to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

with 80–85 in the final game. Over 35 EuroLeague games, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. On 2 July 2019, Datome signed another contract extension with the Turkish club through the 2021–22 season. On 30 June 2020, Datome and the Turkish club parted ways after five quite successful seasons.

Olimpia Milano (2020–2023)

On 30 June 2020, Datome signed with

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA). On July 7, 2023, Datome announced his retirement from professional basketball after the

2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

. Subsequently, in October, Datome was inducted into the Olimpia Milano Hall of Fame along with six other players associated with the Armani era.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .351 , , .179 , , .800 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .417 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 18 , , 1 , , 10.7 , , .494 , , .472 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , .4 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 55 , , 1 , , 8.1 , , .414 , , .361 , , .818 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.4

Playoffs

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Mens Sana , 6 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .583 , , .000 , , , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .3 , , , , 2.3 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 11 , , 2 , , 11.2 , , .538 , , .579 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.2 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, 13 , , 2 , , 16.8 , , .417 , , .348 , , .895 , , 3.7 , , .6 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.8 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 2 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .400 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , , , , , 6.0 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 13 , , 12 , , 24.5 , , .438 , , .367 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.1 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", Fenerbahçe , 29 , , 23 , , 27.0 , , .516 , , .462 , , .867 , , 4.4 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 12.4 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2016–17† , 33 , , 21 , , 23.6 , , .442 , , .466 , , .944 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.2 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 35 , , 15 , , 23.9 , , .486 , , .444 , , .917 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .6 , , 9.6 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 34 , , 15 , , 21.0 , , .477 , , .415 , , .917 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 9.0 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="background:#CFECEC;", 28* , , 15 , , 22.4 , , .478 , , .431 , , .929 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , 8.3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

Milano Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nearly 1.4 million, while i ...

, 37 , , 7 , , 16.5 , , .484 , , .511 , , .897 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 7.1 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , 26 , , 13 , , 15.3 , , .442 , , .390 , , .867 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .5 , , .0 , , 7.0 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , 6 , , 1 , , 9.3 , , .364 , , .417 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , , , .2 , , , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 273 , , 126 , , 20.2 , , .473 , , .439 , , .908 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 8.3 , , 7.8

National team

National team career

Datome played with the senior men's Italian national team at the 2007 EuroBasket, the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 champions ...

, and the 2013 EuroBasket. He was also a part of the Italian squad that would take part in the 2015 EuroBasket. However, after injuring a muscle during Italy's second game of the tournament, against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, Datome had to pull out of the rest of the tournament. Datome also represented Italy at the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and at the 2017 EuroBasket. His last career game was also played for the national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. In the classification game, Italy lost to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, 85–89. Datome finished the game with 1 point.