Boston Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee. Last Saturday, the 13-year NBA veteran sustained this injury while playing for Italy against Georgia in the FIBA World Cup qualifier.
On July 12, Gallinari signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the Celtics. He will earn $6.479 million with the team in the 2022-23 season, and the wing will make $6.802 million in the 2023-24 season.
This is the same ACL he tore in 2013 with the Denver Nuggets. Per multiple sources, the estimated timetable for his return is 6 to 12 months.
The Celtics and Gallinari worked together this week on a complete, thorough analysis following the knee injury on Saturday during FIBA play for Italy. The typical ACL recovery time ranges from 6-to-12 months. https://t.co/dg86TQUjoi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 2, 2022
While with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021-22 season, the forward averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in 66 appearances. Also, he shot 43.4% from the field and 38.1% from beyond the arc.
Gallinari was selected sixth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2008 NBA Draft. He played two-and-a-half seasons with the team.
Then, the Knicks traded Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, cash, a 2012 second-round draft pick, a 2013 second-round draft pick, a 2014 first-round draft pick, and a 2015 first-round draft pick to the Nuggets.
Celtics’ Danilo Gallinari diagnosed with torn ACL
From 2011–16, the forward played with the Nuggets. In the 2015-16 season, Gallinari averaged a then career-high 19.5 points per game in 53 starts.
During the 2017 offseason, the wing was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, in the 2018-19 season, he averaged a career-high 19.8 points per game.
On July 10, 2019, Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a 2021 first-round draft pick, a 2022 first-round draft pick, a 2023 first-round draft pick, a 2023 first-round draft pick, a 2024 first-round draft pick, a 2025 first-round draft pick, and a 2026 first-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George.
Though, the Italian played with Oklahoma City just for the 2019-20 season. In 62 starts, Gallinari averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Of course, in November 2020, the Thunder traded the forward and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for a 2025…