Gigi Datome has not changed his mind about retirement
The words of Gigi Datome
Gigi Datome spoke to “La Nuova Sardegna” about the end of the season that led to the Scudetto for EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, the title of UnipolSai MVP of the Finals, and then the decision to retire after the World Championship with Italy in the Philippines: “It’s a choice that I was maturing slowly. On such important decisions, one should not get carried away by emotions. I promised myself I would decide at the end of the season, but in my heart I knew it was right to stop now or soon. I certainly wanted to do it as a top player, not as someone who had been one. And since it ended so well, I couldn’t have chosen a better ending.”
Datome then will have a role in Olimpia off the court as well: “I am happy that I was offered this very important opportunity, which allows me to be behind the team. The role is different, but I am also driven by great curiosity to learn. As a player, I don’t want to say that I had nothing left to learn, but I had seen a lot. Now, however, we are starting from scratch. The role? It will be more on the management side than the technical side.”
Closing remark on the national team: “It would be such a great and beautiful thing that I also take into account that it may not happen. But I will live this World Cup adventure with great serenity and happiness, I will fully enjoy the event, because I know it will be the last one, also the retreat that is usually the ugliest phase, and this group that has already been growing together for a couple of years. I can’t wait to get started.”
Among the players confirmed by Olimpia Milano during last summer were Paul Biligha and Gigi Datome. The latter, born in 1987, returned to Italy in the summer of 2020 to don the red and white jersey after ending a fruitful experience in Turkey, at Fenerbahce. Previously, the Montebelluna native small forward had walked the parquet floors of the NBA, wearing the colors of the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Mens Sana Siena, Scafati Basket and Virtus Roma were Datome’s other Italian teams.
