Introduction
Luigi "Gigi" Datome (born November 27, 1987) is an Italian professional basketball player who plays for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). Standing at 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he plays at the small forward and power forward positions. Datome was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2016.
Professional career
Italy
Born in Montebelluna to Sardinian parents from Oristano, Datome moved to Olbia in Sardinia, where he started playing junior basketball. He joined Montepaschi Siena of the first division Serie A in 2003. He played three and a half seasons for Montepaschi before joining Scafati Basket in February 2007.
In 2008, Datome signed with Virtus Roma where he went on to earn the league's Best Under 22 player award for the 2008–09 season. In 2012–13, he was named the Lega Basket Serie A MVP, after averaging 16.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
NBA
Detroit Pistons
On July 16, 2013, Datome signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. On December 23, 2013, he scored a season-high 13 points in a 115–92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On January 14, 2015, Datome was assigned by the Pistons to the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League. On January 20, he was recalled by the Pistons.
Boston Celtics
On February 19, 2015, Datome was traded, along with Jonas Jerebko, to the Boston Celtics, in exchange for Tayshaun Prince. On April 15, in the Celtics' final regular season game, he earned his first career NBA start; Datome responded with a career- and game-high 22 points, leading Boston to a narrow victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Turkey
On July 14, 2015, Datome signed a two-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In his first season with the team, Datome won the Turkish Cup with a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the final game of the 2016 Euroleague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an overtime 96–101 loss to CSKA Moscow. Over 29 EuroLeague games, he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the Tukish League championship.
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | ||
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||||
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Detroit | 34 | 0 | 7.0 | .351 | .179 | .800 | 1.4 | .3 | .2 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2014–15 | Detroit | 3 | 0 | 5.7 | .417 | .250 | .000 | 1.3 | .7 | .3 | .0 | 3.7 |
| 2014–15 | Boston | 18 | 1 | 10.7 | .494 | .472 | 1.000 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | .4 | 5.2 |
| Career | 55 | 1 | 8.1 | .414 | .361 | .818 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | .1 | 3.4 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Boston | 3 | 0 | 4.7 | .333 | .000 | .000 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Career | 3 | 0 | 4.7 | .333 | .000 | .000 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 | |
EuroLeague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Montepaschi | 6 | 0 | 5.5 | .583 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | .2 | .3 | .0 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| 2005–06 | 11 | 2 | 11.2 | .538 | .579 | 1.000 | 2.3 | .4 | .7 | .2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | |
| 2008–09 | Virtus Roma | 13 | 2 | 16.9 | .417 | .348 | .895 | 3.7 | .6 | .4 | .3 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| 2009–10 | 2 | 0 | 10.9 | .400 | .400 | 1.000 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 6.0 | 4.5 | |
| 2010–11 | 13 | 12 | 24.5 | .438 | .367 | 1.000 | 4.3 | .7 | 1.1 | .4 | 9.1 | 7.5 | |
| 2015–16 | Fenerbahçe | 29 | 23 | 27.0 | .516 | .462 | .867 | 4.4 | 1.9 | .4 | .3 | 12.4 | 13.3 |
| Career | 74 | 39 | 20.2 | .487 | .426 | .889 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 8.6 | 8.6 | |
International career
Datome played for the senior men's Italian national team at EuroBasket 2007, EuroBasket 2009 qualification, EuroBasket 2011, and EuroBasket 2013.
He was also called up to the squad that would take part in EuroBasket 2015 to start on 5 September.
After injuring a muscle during Italy's second game of the tournament against Iceland, Datome had to pull out of the rest of the tournament.