The Rooster doesn’t always rule the roost.
“It’s always great to be back in my favorite city,” Danilo Gallinari told the Denver Gazette after the Nuggets celebrated his career during Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies at Ball Arena.
“I got to thank the Nuggets. … It was family when I was a player, and it still feels like a family. So, it’s great to be back.”
The plan was to call Denver home when “Gallo,” Italian for rooster, hung it up. His hen had other ideas.
“I couldn’t convince my wife to live in Denver. That’s why we live in Miami, but Denver is my favorite city. I was planning on living there, bought my house there. Everything was set to stay there,” Gallinari recently said on Colorado native Derrick White’s podcast.
“It’s very underrated, I think.”
After spending the first couple of years in the states calling New York home after the Knicks drafted the 6-foot-10 forward with the sixth pick of the 2008 draft, Gallinari was mostly unfamiliar with the Mile High City since the Knicks only visited once a year. It wasn’t exactly the best time to move to Denver from a basketball perspective, but he quickly won over Nuggets fans after he was part of the Carmelo Anthony trade.
Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8), left, confers with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, in Denver. The Nuggets won 115-110. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
By the end of his time in Denver, Gallinari had another European transplant to help adjust to the city.
“Not from the same country but kind of similar paths,” Nikola Jokic said. “He was a really good player back in the day. Basketball-wise, he could always find his shot – really talented like 6’10” guy who could shoot, who can do a bunch of things on the floor. It was definitely an experience. … It was a good memory.”
The 37-year-old received ovations when he presented the game ball before Wednesday’s tipoff. The Nuggets played a video celebrating his career on the jumbotron, and Gallinari dished out plenty of fist bumps and signed autographs as he walked around the lower bowl to and from his courtside seats.
“I didn’t know much,” Gallinari said. “From the first night that they welcomed us after the trade, it quickly became my home.”
Gallinari’s NBA career continued with the Clippers, Thunder, Hawks, Wizards and Pistons before he last played in the NBA with the Bucks in 2024. He closed his playing career in Puerto Rico last year, where he led the Vaqueros de Bayamón to the Baloncesto Superior Nacional championship as the finals Most Valuable Player. He still plays in a more informal capacity in Miami.
“I just love the game. I can’t live without it,” Gallinari said. “I’m still playing with my friends every Sunday morning. We group up, and we play. I just love basketball.”
While he’s not dominating pick-up games in Denver, his home from 2011 to 2017, there aren’t many complaints these days. There are just bigger priorities.
“It feels great. I wake up in the morning, and I don’t have pain in my knees or ankle or back. My body feels great,” Gallinari said.
“I just love spending time with my family. I have three kids, so it’s great to be a father. I’m trying to be the best father I can.”