Luigi “Gigi” Datome was born in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso, on November 27, 1987. He soon moved to Olbia and began playing basketball at his father Sergio’s club, “Santa Croce Olbia ‘70,” where, at the age of 15, he made his debut in Serie B. At 16, he made his debut in Serie A with Montepaschi Siena, then coached by Carlo Recalcati, with whom he won his first national championship and his first Super Cup. After three years, he was loaned to Scafati, where he stayed for 18 months.
In 2008, Gigi moved to Virtus Roma, where in his first season he was named “best under 22 player of the championship.” He remained in Rome until the 2012-2013 season, during which he was named “best player of the championship” with an average of 17 points, reaching the playoff final and losing only in Game 5 against Montepaschi Siena. In his years in Rome, Gigi played 149 games and scored 1776 points.
In July 2013, the call from overseas came, and Gigi immediately responded, signing a two-year contract worth $3.5 million with the Detroit Pistons, with whom he officially debuted on October 30, 2013, in a game against the Washington Wizards. However, his season ended with only 34 appearances. In January of his second season, Gigi requested to move to the D-League (known as the G-League), the NBA’s developmental league, where he played 3 games with the Grand Rapids Drive. At the end of the event, he returned to the Pistons, who the following month traded him to the Boston Celtics. He played his first game with Boston against New York, and on April 15, he started and set his career high in the NBA with 22 points scored against the Milwaukee Bucks.
At the end of his contract, Gigi decided to return to Europe, signing with Fenerbahçe under coach Zelimir Obradovic (with a salary of $1.7 million per season), with whom, in his first season alone, he won the cup, the national championship, was also named Finals MVP, and reached the EuroLeague final, where they lost to CSKA Moscow, led by Nando de Colo. In the following season, he won both the national championship and the EuroLeague.
Gigi stayed in Istanbul for five seasons, winning the championship three times, the Turkish Cup three times, two Super Cups, and one EuroLeague, reaching the Final Fours four times.
The summer of 2020 marked his return to Italy after seven years: Gigi signed a three-year contract with Olimpia Milano, coached by Ettore Messina. With Olimpia, he won the national championship in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons, the Super Cup in 2020, the Italian Cup in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, and was named MVP of the Cup in 2021 and of the Finals in 2023.
On July 7, 2023, with a video recorded at the Olbia gym where his career began, Gigi announced: “I am quitting basketball. I am finishing with playing basketball,” preparing the basketball world for his retirement at the end of the World Cup in the Philippines.
Captain of the Italian National Team from 2013 to 2023, Gigi first wore the blue jersey in the summer of 2007, scoring 5 points in a friendly game against Croatia. On September 9, 2023, Gigi took to the court for the last time in the seventh-place final, which Italy lost to Slovenia in Manila, marking his 203rd appearance with the senior national team. With the national team, he participated in two World Cups (2019, 2023) and six European Championships (2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022), under the guidance of five different head coaches: Carlo Recalcati, Simone Pianigiani, Ettore Messina, Meo Sacchetti, and Gianmarco Pozzecco.
On October 17, Olimpia Milano decided to honor Gigi, his career, and the significant contribution he made to the entire club by inducting him into the Hall of Fame associated with the Armani era.
With “Gigi Datome Night,” Gigi’s journey in professional basketball came to an end—a journey not always easy, accompanied by various injuries that kept him off the courts but certainly left an indelible mark in the hearts of all basketball fans.
By Giulia Rubertelli
BOCCONI STUDENTS FOR SPORT MANAGEMENT 
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