Nicolò Melli (born 26 January 1991) is an Italian-American 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 (appr ...

player and the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for

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 Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

(LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Italian national team. He mainly plays at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position, but he has also played at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. Melli earned an

All-EuroLeague Second Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection in

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Youth career

The

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...

native started his career with home town side

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestro ...

. After an accumulation of injuries Melli was called up to train with the senior team in October 2004, at only 13. He sat on the bench during a 24 October league game (an age record) though he did not play and returned to the youth teams afterwards. In October 2006 he participated in the Italian leg of the Jordan Classic Camp international tour, regrouping a selection of the thirty most promising under-16 players, with the MVP earning a trip to the American edition of the camp. Melli was selected as co-MVP, meeting

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

and going to the U.S. in April 2007. He talked of recruiting interest from American college

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

during the same period.

Professional career

Pallacanestro Reggiana

In August 2007, he signed a five-year professional contract with Pallacanestro Reggiana and started training with the first team. The same year, in October, the 16-year-old debuted in the Italian national second division LegaDue. In May 2008, during the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

semi-finals against

Aurora Basket Jesi Aurora Basket Jesi is an Italian professional basketball club based in Jesi. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. History In 1965, Gianni Rossetti (a television journalist for RAI), Carlo Barchiesi (current presiden ...

, he replaced injured starter

Benjamin Ortner Benjamin Ortner (born March 16, 1983) is a former Austrian professional basketball player who last played for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Early Years and College Career Ortner was born and raised in Innsbruc ...

and contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort. He finished the season playing an average of 10.6 minutes with 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. During the off-season, the 17-year-old participated in the Reebok Eurocamp in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

but did not make an impression on observers (albeit playing against older players, sometimes by five years). He also returned to the U.S., attending the Adidas Nations that pitted international teams of promising youngsters. Though he was praised by an observer for his work ethic, it was also noted that his game (and lack of athleticism) was unsuited to the American game. Melli started the next season in great form, with 12 points and 18 rebounds followed by 24 points in two games, however, on 21 December 2008, Melli suffered a serious knee injury. Scans revealed an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

on his left knee, requiring surgery and at least five months of rehabilitation though he would be able to continue his career. He returned to action in 2009–10 as a starter; he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28 minutes, though he missed the promotion playoffs because of a shoulder injury.

Olimpia Milano

2010–11 season

On the radar of strong sides for some time, Melli joined

Armani Jeans 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 elite domestic

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

and European EuroLeague in July 2010, signing a four-year deal. After struggling to earn minutes, Melli was loaned to fellow Serie A side Scavolini-Siviglia Pesaro in February 2011. A month later he returned to Milan, to take part in the Italian All Star Game where he contributed 12 points for Italy. Melli finished the 2010–11 season with 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 16 minutes per game for Pesaro (compared with 9 minutes for Milan previously).

2011–12 season

The next season saw Melli accrue slightly more playing time but despite some highlights, such as a team-high 17 points in a EuroLeague Group G defeat against

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 20 ...

, he finished the regular season with 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11 minutes per game (Serie A) and 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9 minutes per game (EuroLeague). He had more impact in the Serie A playoffs, including decisive performances in the semi-final game 3 against former side Pesaro (5 points in 19 minutes and a good defensive performance, with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block) and then in game 4 of the finals against future champions

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket 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 sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, t ...

where he was part of a second-half fightback to win the game, finishing with 11 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes.

2012–13 season

In 2012–13, Melli increased his averages to 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds (Serie A), 4.6 points and 3 rebounds (EuroLeague), and his minutes to respectively 17 and 15 in a season nearly devoid of highlights both personally and for Milan (eliminated in the domestic quarterfinals and the EuroLeague regular season). An exception was his third successive participation in the December Italian league All-Star Game, in which he top-scored along with Milan teammate

Alessandro Gentile Alessandro Gentile (born November 12, 1992) is an Italian professional basketball player who plays for Udine of the Serie A2. Standing at 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in), he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions. He was selected by the Minne ...

(18 points), adding a game-best 10 rebounds. During the summer, he worked out with a number of NBA sides, with an observer commenting that he seemed too light physically for the league, he would go undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft.

2013–14 season

2013–14 proved to be Melli's breakthrough season, with his good performances becoming more regular as he cemented his place in Milan's starting five. The first of those decisive contributions came in Milan's second EuroLeague game of the season against Žalgiris, where Melli scored a career-high 20 points, adding 9 rebounds and 2 steals in 25 minutes to earn a PIR of 28. During the decisive 74–73 victory against

Brose Bamberg Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketbal ...

in the penultimate group stage game, he defended

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

as he missed the Brose's last shot which allowed Milan to progress to the Top 16. Though he lad less impact further on as Milan reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals, Melli finished with respectable averages of 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.9 steals in around 21 minutes in the competition. Domestically, he regularly posted scored in double figures, including a career-high 24 points against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, put against more average games he finished with 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in a career-high 21 minutes. Discarding the statistics, Melli had crucial contributions during the Serie A playoffs, starting with 18 points in 22 minutes in the first game against

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a ty ...

. After starting the finals series against defending champions

with some off-games Melli exploded in the final two games. In the do-or-die game 6, with Milan trailing, he scored two successive three-pointers to regain the lead before adding a steal and a number of decisive rebounds as Milan won the game to earn a game 7 decider. In that game, he contributed 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as Milan won to become Italian champions for the first time in 18 years.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, his contract with Milan was extended for another year. The season proved more difficult for both parties, Melli had an unremarkable season (5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in the EuroLeague, 5.6 and 4.3 in Serie A) as Milan were stopped in the Italian playoff semi-finals in their title defense and stalled in the EuroLeague Top 16.

Brose Bamberg

2015–16 season

Melli moved abroad in July 2015, signing with German side Brose Bamberg for two years. He cited Brose's strong pursuit of his services and their offering him a more important role in the side as motivation for the move abroad, adding that the presence of compatriots Andrea Trinchieri and Daniele Baiesi as

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and GM respectively would facilitate his adaptation. Melli was named the MVP of the Month of November of the

2015–16 Euroleague The 2015–16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 16th season of the modern era of EuroLeague, Euroleague Basketball and the sixth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA E ...

2016–17 season

Melli was named the EuroLeague Round 11 MVP, after scoring 27 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, in a 70–85 away victory over

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

, on 8 December 2016. He was named to the season's

Fenerbahçe İstanbul

On 8 July 2017, Melli signed a three-year contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, 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 Basket ...

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

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, by a score of 80–85 in the finals game. In the finals game, Melli was the finals top scorer, as he scored 28 points, which was the most points scored in a EuroLeague Finals game by a player since 1985. He had a season-best performance in the

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 195 ...

, scoring 28 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Over 36 EuroLeague games played in total, he averaged 8.9 points, 5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019–2021)

On 25 July 2019, Melli signed with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). On 22 October 2019, Melli made his debut in NBA, coming off the bench in a 122–130 overtime loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

with fourteen points, five rebounds and two assists. On 12 February 2020, Melli replaced Deandre Ayton for the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge. Melli 12-Feb-21

Dallas Mavericks (2021)

He was traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

on 26 March 2021, alongside

JJ Redick Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college baske ...

in exchange for

James Johnson James Johnson may refer to: Artists, actors, authors, and musicians *James Austin Johnson (born 1989), American comedian & actor, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member *James B. Johnson (born 1944), author of science nonfiction novels *James P. John ...

and

Wes Iwundu Wesley Deshawn Iwundu (born December 20, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats. College career Iwundu was recruited by coach ...

, in addition to a second-round draft-pick. He made his debut three days later, in a 127–106 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

where he recorded six points in twelve minutes.

Olimpia Milano (2021–present)

On 9 July 2021, Melli made his return to Europe by officially signing with his former club

National team career

Italian junior national team

Melli played with the Italian Under-16 side at the

2007 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2007 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 21st edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Ierapetra, Rethymno and Heraklion, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Serbia won the trophy for the first time since the dissol ...

, averaging 13.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game (all three team bests), as he was selected to the tournament's best five. With the U-18's at the

2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Greece from July 25, 2008 until August 3. The hosts, Greeks, emerged as the champions after beating the Lithuanians in the final, 57–50 to clinch the ...

, he averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game (the latter a team best). In the

2011 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2011 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The competition featured 16 teams, held in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain from July 14–24. Spain became a champion for the first time. ...

, Melli contributed 10.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1 block per game, in nearly 25 minutes played per game, including 23 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal against Montenegro, to help Italy reach the final. He had an off-game against Spain in the semi-final, grabbing 7 rebounds and scoring 9 points, but shooting 2 for 8 from the floor, and committing four fouls, as Italy had to make do with a silver medal.

Italian senior national team

Melli made his full debut (discounting the All-Star Game) for the senior Italian team in August 2011, though he was rarely called up until 2013. After being called up to the Italy squad for

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

, the

had to play in an unfamiliar

position, due to the lack of big men in Italy's squad. Alternating at the position with

Marco Cusin Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish c ...

, he was pitted against bigger and stronger opponents, finishing the tournament with a respectable 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, in around 16 minutes played per game – with highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

– as Italy reached the tournament's quarterfinals. Melli also played at the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 ...

. Melli scored a team high 15 points in a win against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in the preliminary round of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 60 , , 8 , , 17.4 , , .421 , , .335 , , .740 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .6 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 22 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .254 , , .189 , , .857 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, 23 , , 4 , , 14.1 , , .378 , , .333 , , .722 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 105 , , 12 , , 15.3 , , .392 , , .316 , , .745 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , – , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , – , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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, style="text-align:left;" rowspan=5,

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ha ...

, 10 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .375 , , .300 , , .667 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .3 , , .4 , , 3.3 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , 11 , , 1 , , 9.1 , , .563 , , .333 , , .500 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 3.4 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , 10 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .364 , , .250 , , .667 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.6 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 27 , , 20 , , 20.6 , , .478 , , .333 , , .773 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .9 , , .6 , , 5.3 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 24 , , 17 , , 20.4, , .400 , , .333 , , .700 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 5.3 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

, 23 , , 23 , , 28.5 , , .468 , , .453 , , .815 , , 6.5 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .7 , , 9.2 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 30 , , 30 , , 28.8 , , .502 , , .434 , , .740 , , 7.4 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .7 , , 11.5 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Fenerbahçe , 36 , , 16 , , 26.0 , , .502 , , .430 , , .805 , , 5.0 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .3 , , 8.9 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 36 , , 34 , , 25.3 , , .435 , , .385 , , .816 , , 4.1 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .6 , , 7.3 , , 9.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 207 , , 141 , , 23.5 , , .466 , , .387 , , .771 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 7.4 , , 9.9

Personal life

Melli is the son of the former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player Julie Vollertsen—a silver medalist with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

at the 1984 Olympic Games—and corporate lawyer (formerly amateur basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana and television journalist) Leopoldo Melli. They met when Vollertsen moved from the U.S. to

to play professionally. Enrico, Melli's younger brother who was born in 1995, has also played basketball for Reggiana. Melli has a dual citizen: Italy and the United States. However, the first time he visited the latter he was 16 and he doesn't feel very American. He describes his English as good but not fluent.