Danilo Gallinari believes injuries are the defining “what-if” of his NBA career, particularly because his two ACL tears came when he was playing for teams he believed had legitimate championship potential.
“I don’t know, I’m probably the biggest what-if guy in the history of the game, maybe,” Gallinari said in an exclusive interview with Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype. “But it’s part of an NBA career.”
Gallinari, selected sixth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2008 NBA Draft, played 14 seasons in the NBA and averaged 15.1 points per game. His career also included two ACL tears and back surgery during his rookie season, injuries that affected his athleticism and prevented him from experiencing what he believes could have been his prime.
“I was a great athlete before I got all these injuries, but I was very gifted skills-wise,” Gallinari said. “My skills helped me hide a little bit of the wear and tear that my injuries gave to my body.”
Gallinari played his longest NBA stint with the Denver Nuggets, spending six and a half seasons with the franchise. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 71 games during the 2012-13 season before tearing his ACL near the end of the regular season.
Denver finished 57-25 that season, the best record in franchise history at the time, while George Karl won Coach of the Year and Masai Ujiri was named Executive of the Year. The Nuggets lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
“When Masai Ujiri and coach Karl talk about it, they blame it on me because I tore my ACL right before the playoffs that season,” Gallinari said. “We were supposed to go all the way to the Finals.”
Gallinari later joined the Boston Celtics after signing in 2022, viewing the team as another ideal championship opportunity. He suffered a second ACL tear before playing a regular-season game for Boston and never appeared for the Celtics.
“The two ACL injuries that happened to me happened in the only two times where I played for a championship-caliber team,” Gallinari said. “It happened my third season in Denver and when I signed with the Celtics, which was my only second chance to get to the championship.”
The second ACL recovery was particularly difficult because Gallinari was 34 rather than 24. He also considers the mental side of rehabilitation more challenging than the physical process because players can continue to think about the movement that caused the original injury.
Despite those setbacks, Gallinari built a career around his offensive skill. He averaged 19.8 points in 68 games with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018-19, shooting 46.3% from the field, 43.3% from three-point range and 90.4% from the free-throw line.
He also played alongside Nikola Jokic in Denver before the Serbian center became a three-time MVP. Gallinari said he knew Jokic would become “a great player,” although he did not anticipate his eventual level.
Gallinari identified the Atlanta Hawks’ 2021 run to the Eastern Conference Finals as his favorite career moment. Atlanta had not made the playoffs for several years before adding Gallinari and other veterans, but the team advanced past the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The veteran forward also revealed another career regret: choosing Milwaukee over a two-year opportunity with the Clippers late in his career. He called the one-year Bucks contract his “biggest mistake” from both a contractual and team perspective.
Gallinari finished his NBA career with eight teams, but his reflections remain centered on the opportunities lost to injuries rather than his longevity. He now works across several business and ambassadorial projects while remaining involved with basketball internationally.
“I think just a guy who gave everything to basketball and played basketball the right way, a great teammate,” Gallinari said when asked about his legacy. “And a player that hopefully is a role model for younger generations.”
