Simone Fontecchio's path: from being discarded by Italy's top teams to the NBA / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

One of the main news of the last few days was related to Italian basketball. National team member Simone Fontecchio left Baskonia after just one season to make the jump to the NBA, signing a two-year deal worth a bit more than $6 million with the Utah Jazz.

Simone Fontecchio

Team:Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizPosition:SFAge:26Height:203 cmWeight:95 kgBirth place:Pescara, ItalyProfileNewsStatistics

Fontecchio becomes the third Italian player in the league after Danilo Gallinari and rookie Paolo Banchero. What impresses the most about Fontecchio is how he grew as a player in the past three years.

In such a short span, he went from basically not playing in Milan (getting very limited minutes in EuroLeague) to becoming one of the best forwards in Europe. He also was a leader of the Italian NT, leading it to the quarterfinals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

For Fontecchio, the decision to leave Italy and join ALBA Berlin was a game changer and helped him become one of Europe's most coveted players. But to understand how he reached this level, we have to take a step back.

Fontecchio grew up in the Virtus Bologna youth system, and at that time, he was considered one of the best prospects in Italian basketball. He made his debut with the first team in the 2012-2013 season when he was only 17 years old.

In that period, Virtus Bologna was going through multiple difficulties. The team wasn't particularly good, which allowed Fontecchio to find minutes in the rotations even if he was still very young.

In his third season with the club, 2014-2015, Fontecchio was named Best Under-22 Player of the Italian league, confirming his talent and growth. In the following season, his role became even more important, and the Italian forward averaged 9.3 points per game. However, that season was a disaster for Virtus Bologna.

The team got relegated to the second division, and since the second division in Italy doesn't have a professional status, all the players under professional contracts with the club were released.

3-pointers this season

36%14,1Points made:14,1Accuracy:35,6%Place in standings:3Record max:27Record min:3Most made 3FGs:Donovan MitchellTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Virtus tried to convince Fontecchio to remain with the club in the second division, trying to make him a star of the team, but at 21 years old, Fontecchio had different ambitions. The Italian forward had received a multi-year contract offer from Armani Exchange Milan. Something really difficult to turn down.

So, in the end, Fontecchio switched sides and joined Milan, creating separation with Virtus Bologna fans. Some of them didn't appreciate an interview that Fontecchio gave after joining Milan when he said:

"In the misfortune of a bitter relegation, an incredible opportunity opened up for me, which I did not think about at all."

But despite the initial enthusiasm, Fontecchio's time in Milan wasn't as successful as expected. In his first season with the club, he didn't play much, averaging 13 minutes per game in the Italian league.

The following season, 2017-2018, Simone Pianigiani took over as a head coach, and the situation for Fontecchio got even worse. He barely played in the first part of the season, averaging only 7.5 minutes per game.

So in January, he decided to join Vanoli Cremona on loan so that he could play more. During his time in Cremona, he averaged almost 11 points per game and helped the team to reach the playoffs.

He then returned to Milan, but his role remained extremely limited even in his final season there.

In the summer of 2019, Fontecchio became a free agent and had the freedom to pick his next destination. For a few weeks, it looked like he would return to Virtus Bologna. Several newspapers wrote that Fontecchio and Virtus had reached an agreement and that he was ready to return to the club where he grew up.

But that return, in the end, never materialized. Luca Baraldi, the CEO of Virtus Bologna, commented in this way:

"We had an agreement, then I thought about it, and now he's no longer a target for us. We cannot be the alternative option for someone who didn't do well in Milan.

In addition, when Fontecchio left Virtus the first time, he had a poor relationship with our fans, and I care about this type of thing".

At that point, Fontecchio signed a one-year deal with Pallacanestro Reggiana. Even though that season was cut short due to Covid, that decision paid good dividends for Fontecchio. In Reggio Emilia, he played a really solid season, averaging 11 points and 4 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from 3-point.

That experience opened the doors to Europe. In the summer of 2020, ALBA Berlin decided to take a chance on the Italian wing, and the marriage between the two sides was incredibly successful.

Fontecchio thrived under coach Aito Garcia's system and played a major role in the German team. In EuroLeague, he averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 38% from 3-point.

The Italian forward started drawing the attention of the biggest teams in Europe.

Fontecchio extended that great season into the summer with his national team. He became a key player for the Italian national team during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where Italy reached the quarterfinals.

During that tournament, Fontecchio was hands down the best player for Italy, averaging 19.3 points, 3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting an impressive 45% from 3-point.

Even NBA reporters covering the Olympic tournament started to ask themselves why this guy wasn't in the NBA yet.

It almost looked like Fontecchio couldn't miss during the Olympic Games, no matter how difficult the shot was.

After that magical summer with the Italian national team, Fontecchio agreed to a multi-year deal with Baskonia. The deal included an NBA buyout since the player was already receiving interest from the NBA.

Even though Baskonia's season wasn't a positive one, as the team failed to qualify for the EuroLeague playoffs and was forced to change head coach during the year, Fontecchio confirmed his growth, averaging 11 points per game in EuroLeague while shooting 40% from 3-point.

That's when the Utah Jazz call arrived. After being a contender in the Western Conference for several years, the Jazz decided to hit the reset button this summer.

They traded their star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves and their starting small forward, Royce O'Neale, to the Brooklyn Nets.

And now, it looks like even Donovan Mitchell might be traded before the beginning of the regular season, with the New York Knicks among the team interested in trading for the shooting guard.

With the Jazz heading into a rebuild, Fontecchio may be able to carve out a prominent role for himself within the roster.

Putting the pieces together, Fontecchio has all the characteristics to step into the 3&D role, which is in demand in the contemporary NBA.

He has the right size to mark multiple roles on defense and has ballistic gifts to hold high 3-point percentages when called upon.

Fontecchio's move to the NBA is another positive sign for Italian basketball, which has seen significant growth in recent years, especially in terms of prospects to show the rest of the world.

His career path also proves that for some players moving away from Italy and trying an experience abroad is the best way to ignite their careers. It happened to Nicolò Melli when he moved to Bamberg, and Achille Polonara, when he joined Baskonia.

In other ways, it also happened to Daniel Hackett when he left Milan to join Olympiacos. In the following years, he became one of the most reliable players in his role in the entire continent.

Fontecchio did the same, and his career completely changed in a span of two years.

After being essentially discarded by Italy's top two teams, Fontecchio got his revenge abroad.

After starting from Abruzzo, the Italian wing now has the chance to showcase his talent on the most important stage possible: the NBA. Not bad for someone who didn't look good enough to crack the rotations in the Italian league.

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