Danilo Gallinari on joining Celtics: 'It was almost like a no-brainer' / News - Basketnews.com

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The Italian forward Danilo Gallinari recently signed a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics. His father Vittorio Gallinari was a huge Larry Bird fan, he revealed in an interview with Jared Weiss from The Athletic.

Free throws this season

81%17,4Points made:17,4Accuracy:81,1%Place in standings:11Record max:32Record min:6Most made FTs:Jayson TatumTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Together with Vittorio, his son NBA player Danilo Gallinari was also interviewed.

"I tried to teach him something technical, but especially mentality," Vittorio Gallinari said.

Danilo's father wanted his son to have a mentality like Larry Bird had.

"The ultimate Larry Bird [thing] is a great mentality, a winning mentality. That's what I tried to teach him," Vittorio Gallinari revealed.

"First of all, I'm really excited because I am an old fan of Larry Bird," Vittorio continued. "So when Danilo decided to come here, I was the first one to be happy about that," he added.

Danilo Gallinari became a fan of Larry Bird himself growing up.

"At his size, being able to play different positions at the ball, skills, that's the part of the game that I liked about him the most," said Danilo Gallinari.

"That's something that I've been doing, being a player that can play different positions, especially with the ball in my hands and create for myself, for others," the Celtics forward explained.

"Shooting, of course, was a big part of his game, and it’s a big part of my game," Danilo Gallinari added.

Gallinari turned down a bigger offer from the Chicago Bulls to take the Celtics' $13.3 million offer over the next two seasons, which shows how much the Italian wanted to join the Celtics.

"I grew up with my dad since I was a little kid being a Celtics fan, being a Larry Bird fan, so when the Celtics came on the table, it was almost like a no-brainer," the 2.08-meters tall Italian said.

Last season, the 33-year-old veteran from Italy averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 66 games for the Atlanta Hawks.

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