Ettore Messina Reportedly Joining Hawks As Consultant

Legendary European coach Ettore Messina will return to the NBA as a consultant with the Hawks, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net, relaying a report from Walter Fuochi of La Republicca.

Messina will be reuniting with Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, who was an assistant under Messina with CSKA Moscow before he started his NBA coaching career.

Messina, who turns 67 years old at the end of September, previously had a one-season consulting job with the Lakers in 2011/12 and was the top assistant coach under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio from 2014-19. He has spent the past several years with Olimpia Milano in his native Italy before parting ways with the team this summer.

Considered one of the greatest European basketball coaches of all time, Messina has won four EuroLeague championships and has led his teams to 12 appearances in the EuroLeague Final Four. The two-time EuroLeague Coach of the Year also holds seven Lega Basket Serie A titles in Italy and six domestic championships in Russia’s top league.

It sounds like Messina’s new position will allow him to stay in Italy, at least part time, as he’s expected to serve as a television analyst for Sky Sports.