Danilo Gallinari on NBA Europe: “I hope it starts in 2027-28. An agreement with EuroLeague could create fireworks”

05/10/202608:56

Danilo Gallinari Nazionale Maschile Senior Italia Italy - Gran Bretagna Great Britain FIBA Eurobasket 2022 - ITALY - Fase a gironi FIP 2022 Milano, 08/09/2022 Foto AlessiaDoniselli // CIAMILLO-CASTORIA

Gallinari hopes the NBA and EuroLeague can work together on the new European competition. The former Knicks player also reflected on his early years in New York and revealed why he turned down an opportunity to appear on the Kardashians’ reality show.

NBA Europe: Gallinari hopes for a 2027-28 launch

Danilo Gallinari is looking forward to the NBA Europe project and hopes the new competition can begin as early as the 2027-28 season. However, he believes reaching an agreement with EuroLeague will be crucial to its success.

“I just hope we can start in 2027-28. It’s very difficult, but it can be done. Above all, I hope the NBA and EuroLeague can reach an agreement. After the NBA, EuroLeague is the best league in the world. We need collaboration, and if we find it, there will be fireworks,” Gallinari said.

The former NBA player hopes the two organizations can work together to strengthen European basketball rather than pursue separate projects.

His Knicks years and Jamal Crawford’s advice

Gallinari also looked back on his early NBA career, recalling his time in New York and the valuable advice he received from Jamal Crawford.

“I met Jamal Crawford, one of my favorite veterans. He helped me understand how I needed to change my game. He told me the same thing Phil Jackson told Toni Kukoc: when I received the ball, I already needed to know what I was going to do.”

It was an important lesson during Gallinari’s development in the NBA.

Why Gallinari turned down the Kardashians’ reality show

Gallinari also shared an unusual story from his time with the Knicks, revealing that he was once approached about appearing in a new format for the Kardashian family’s reality show.

“She was working on a new format for the family show and asked the Knicks whether any players were interested. The team’s PR representative came to me. For a week, I practiced in the morning and then met with the production team in the afternoon, together with the team’s PR representative, to see whether it could work.”

Gallinari ultimately turned down the opportunity, partly because he would not have had control over the script.

“It was a decision that could have changed your life, just as it did for poor Kris Humphries. He ended up accepting, and he was booed in every arena he went to just because of that.”