Recent Bucks forward announces retirement after 14 seasons 1 Apr 2, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Danilo Gallinari (12) fights for the ball during the second quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

Recent Bucks forward announces retirement after 14 seasons

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By John Sbisa | Last updated Dec 2, 2025 11:43 AM ET

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday morning that former Bucks forward Danilo Gallinari has announced his retirement after a 14-year career. Gallinari’s last game in an NBA jersey came in Milwaukee in 2023-24, after he joined the team midseason following his release by the Pistons. Those 17 games as a Buck were only a small fraction, ultimately to be forgotten, of a much more established career with the Knicks, Nuggets, and Clippers, among other teams.

Gallinari enjoyed productive career as prototypical wing scorer

The Bucks added Gallinari looking for supplementary wing size and shooting. By the time he came over from Detroit, though, the veteran forward was on his last legs. Long story short, he didn’t do much with the Bucks, averaging 2.8 points in nine minutes per night. His entire brief stay in Milwaukee, Gallinari made three 3-pointers in 17 attempts.

In his career, the Italian-born sixth overall pick in 1998 sank 1,456 shots from beyond the arc at a clip of 38.1%. His scoring average in 777 games settled at 14.9 PPG. Gallinari also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game for his career.

Gallinari arrived in the league in 2008-09, drafted by the Knicks, and became a high-quality starter by his sophomore season. He averaged double figures every season between ’09-10 and ’21-22, before missing all of the ’22-23 campaign with an injury. It was the second season lost entirely to injury in Gallinari’s career.

Gallinari had his best season in 2018-19 with the Clippers, posting career-highs in scoring (19.8 PPG), rebounds (6.1 PPG), and FG% (46.3). His 43.3% success rate from long range was his best since he shot 44.4% in a small sample size as a rookie.

The following year, in his only season for the Thunder, he made a career-best 2.9 threes per contest. Gallinari also spent two seasons for the Hawks and the first part of his final campaign with the Wizards en route to stints in Detroit and Milwaukee.

Recent Bucks forward announces retirement after 14 seasons 2 Apr 12, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) reaches for the ball through Milwaukee Bucks forward Danilo Gallinari (12) arms during the fourth quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

An elite free-throw shooter as well as a perimeter marksman, Gallinari eclipsed 90% multiple times and finished his career at 87.6% from the charity stripe.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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