Marco Stefano Belinelli (born March 25, 1986 in San Giovanni in Persiceto) is an Italian basketball player. He used to play for the Golden State Warriors, for the Toronto Raptors, and for the New Orleans Hornets. In 2012, he started playing for the Chicago Bulls.[1]
Biography
Starting his career in the youth teams of Virtus Bologna, Marco Belinelli made his professional debut in LegA in 2002. In the following year, he switched to the rival Bologna club, Fortitudo Bologna, due to his former club's financial troubles. He achieved an Italian championship with them in 2005.
In 2006, he represented Italy in the World Championships, with the team finishing in ninth place.
In 2007, he entered the NBA Draft, which took place on June 28, 2007, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Golden State Warriors selected him as the eighteenth overall pick.
On August 11, 2010, he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Julian Wright.[2] In 2011, he played in the playoffs as a starter for the New Orleans Hornets and had an impressive season.
During the 2011 European Championship, Italy managed to field its three NBA players: Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari, and Andrea Bargnani. Despite being placed in a challenging group in the initial round, which included France, Germany, Serbia, Israel, and Latvia, Italy finished the competition with only one victory.
In 2014, he achieved an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first Italian player to accomplish this feat.
On July 13, 2015, he signed with the Sacramento Kings.[3] On February 11, 2018, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.[4]
On July 1, 2018, he made a return to the San Antonio Spurs, signing a two-year contract worth twelve million dollars.
On November 26, 2020, he left the NBA and returned to Virtus Bologna.
References
Other websites
Media related to Marco Belinelli at Wikimedia Commons
.jpg)
