Social media sensation and outspoken character: inside Malcolm Delaney's time in Milan / News - Basketnews.com

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Last week, AX Armani Exchange Milan officially announced that Malcolm Delaney would be out for the remainder of the season after suffering an abdominal strain in Game 2 of the EuroLeague playoffs against Anadolu Efes.

Malcolm Delaney

Team:AX Armani Exchange MilanPosition:PG, SGAge:33Height:191 cmWeight:86 kgBirth place:Baltimore, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The news essentially put an end to Delaney's experience in Milan. The American guard is on an expiring deal and won't return to the Italian side next season.

As he revealed to our website in an interview, Delaney wants to focus more on his side businesses and spend more time close to his family during the offseason, so another 'full' season in Europe is basically out of the question.

He might look for a deal in a league with a shorter regular season but where he can still get paid well, like China or Japan, or he might play again in Europe but not from the start of the season, joining a team starting from December-January and playing only half of the season.

Regardless of his future decisions, it looks like the right time to look back at the two-year Delaney's experience in Milan, which ended just like it started, riddled with injuries.

The American guard joined Milan in 2020 after a troubled experience with Barcelona. It was the second season of coach Messina's tenure with Armani Exchange, and the Italian head coach, together with Greek GM Christos Stavropoulos, had targeted Delaney as their main reinforcement for the backcourt.

In the previous season, Messina had decided to part ways with Mike James, who was considered too individual of a player and not the best fit to play alongside Sergio Rodriguez. But the additions of Shelvin Mack and Kiefer Sykes didn't work out, and with the season interrupted due to Covid, Armani Exchange started to look at better options to improve the team for the following season.

Malcolm Delaney

MIN:24.18PTS:9.39 (45.33%)REB:2.46As:2.82ST:0.36BL:0TO:1.68GM:28ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Delaney was almost immediately identified as the right man for the job in the backcourt. A player with impressive offensive skills who could have created off the dribble and taken away some offensive responsibilities off Rodriguez's shoulders. When he was officially introduced by Milan, Delaney introduced himself with some very important words.

"With the freedom to create and ball in my hands, I'm the best guard in Europe," Delaney said during the introductory press conference.

However, his time in Milan was almost immediately troubled by the injuries.

In September 2020, Delaney suffered a left knee injury in the final of the Italian SuperCup against Virtus Bologna. Delaney suffered another one around a month after the first injury. This time, a sprained tibia forced him to sit out for a month.

The American guard came back and was even decisive in some games, especially in the overtime win against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, in which he made a last-second shot to win the game. But in the following months, something looked off.

Delaney lost most of his offensive spark, he kept giving an important contribution on the defensive end and working hard to create the first line of defense on the perimeter. Still, offensively Punter, Shields, and Rodriguez looked way more comfortably than Delaney.

The American guard was forced to undergo surgery on his knee, and he remained out for another month. Another major blow for him and Milan.

The player returned in time for the EuroLeague playoffs and, in the series against Bayern Munich, showed his offensive potential, averaging 16.2 points per game. He helped the team reach the Final Four but after the loss in the semifinal against Barcelona, Delaney, just like his teammates, took the hit mentally.

The team never really bounced back from that defeat and was swept by Virtus Bologna in the finals of the Italian Serie A. In his first season with Milan, Delaney averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game in EuroLeague.

After the end of the last season, Delaney had already hinted that the next one could be his last season in Europe, so he wanted to be in the best condition possible to win it all with Milan.

In October, though, Delaney suffered yet another injury in a EuroLeague game against ASVEL. In the following months, Delaney played with a decent regularity but lacked offensive contribution, and once again, Milan was forced to rely way too much on Sergio Rodriguez.

The American guard never failed to provide some solid defense, but he just didn't bring that offensive spark that Messina would have needed. Then, during the playoffs of this season, Delaney suffered an abdominal strain in Game 2 against Efes and was sidelined for the rest of the series.

The player left the court visibly frustrated and, a few weeks later, was sidelined for the rest of the season, unable to provide his contribution during the playoffs of the Italian league.

In the official statement provided by Milan, Delaney expressed his disappointment for not being able to help his teammates and his regrets for his two-year experience that was cut short due to the injuries.

"These two years were special, I've played in one of the best teams I've ever been part of, but there was also a lot of bad luck," Delaney said. "I want to thank the fans and my teammates who helped me a lot in these two years that were really difficult, both mentally and physically."

The American guard loved his experience in Milan. Outside of the court, his peculiar personality and his outspoken social media presence captured the attention and love of several fans.

"Malcolm's experience in Milan was basically an episode of Marvel's series 'What If,' Luca Guaglianone told BasketNews.

Guaglianone is a huge Olimpia Milan supporter and the social media manager of the Italian website Backdoor Podcast.

"Everything surrounding Delaney in Milan, unfortunately, is linked to the multiple injuries he had. He was never able to be healthy for an extended period of time," Guaglianone continued. "But I believe he gave everything he had every single time he was on the court, he even adapted himself to become more of a defensive-minded player. He also gave us a lot of joy on social media."

Foe23, the Twitter handle of Delaney, became extremely popular among a part of Olimpia Milan's supporters. Delaney often interacted with the fans, and his posts, both on Twitter and Instagram, were constantly shared and commented on by Milan's fans.

Even Delaney's relationship with Rod Lyles, aka Chef Rod, became kind of a sensation among some fans.

The chef was a familiar presence around Delaney and other team members. He also attended multiple Armani Exchange games over the past few seasons, and for several supporters, he became almost a good luck charm.

"He was supposed to be Milan's go-to guy, but due to several circumstances, he never was," Dario Destri, a former Sportando contributor and now the host of the podcast 'Tre Uomini e l'Olimpia,' told BasketNews.

"He started to have injuries from the beginning of his experience, and he continued to do so until the very end.

I've always appreciated how he changed his game, adapting it to his body, focusing more on defense, and he was instrumental in last season's run that led to the Final Four. He's a controversial player, but I respect him a lot, he's a great professional and has always spoken in a very honest way, especially about his future," Destri added.

Now that his time in Milan has come to an end, there's definitely the temptation, among some experts, to look back and say that his experience was a disappointing one. But his ability to create a true connection with the fans and his will to become one of the defensive anchors of the team are elements that cannot be erased.

Offensively, Delaney almost never looked like the player who used to dominate back in his Lokomotiv Kuban days, but despite that, he was able to leave a mark on this team, even if it wasn't the type of legacy that many expected from him.

While it's unclear what the future holds for him basketball-wise, there's no denying that Malcolm Delaney's time in Milan was something that many people won't forget.

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