Sept. 10, 2026, 9:25 p.m. ET
Regret is not an emotion that you often hear an NBA player admit to. But there is one thing in a career in the Association that can trigger that admission – the lost time and potential created by injuries. And such was the case for Boston Celtics forward alum Danilo Gallinari, who tore his ACL in international play just weeks before the Celtics held the training camp he was supposed to be joining the storied ball club for in pursuit of a title.
Gallo spoke to HoopsHype contributor Cyro Asseo about that era and the Italian forward’s feelings about it in a recent interview, “I always go back to my two ACLs,” said Gallinari. “The two ACL injuries that happened to me happened in the only two times where I played for a championship-caliber team. Because it happened my third season in Denver and when I signed with the Celtics, which was my only second chance to get to the championship, so those are the only two moments that were not based on something that I did.”
“I got injured, but I couldn’t control can’t control injuries that much,” said the former Celtics forward. “So it would be those two moments.”
As for which of the two ACL tears were tougher, it was his injury ahead of his tenure with Boston that impacted him the most. “I think the second one was definitely tougher because I did it at 34 instead of 24,” he explained. “So when you do it at 24, your body reacts in a different way, so the second one was tougher.”
“And the mental part, I think, is always tougher than the physical part because the body will adapt, will react, but the mind sometimes goes back to the same move that you did that you got injured with, and so it’s the mental part.”
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