Andrea Bargnani facts for kids

"Il Mago" redirects here. For the Italian comics magazine, see Il Mago (magazine).

Quick facts for kids
Andrea Bargnani
Personal information
Bargnani with the New York Knicks in November 2013
Power forward / center
Born	(1985-10-26) 26 October 1985 (age 39) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Pro career	2002–2017
League	NBA
Career history
2002–2003	Stella Azzurra Roma
2003–2006	Benetton Treviso
2006–2013	Toronto Raptors
2013–2015	New York Knicks
2015–2016	Brooklyn Nets
2016–2017	Baskonia

Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2007) EuroLeague Rising Star (2006) Italian League champion (2006) 2× Italian Cup winner (2004, 2005) Italian League Best Player Under 22 (2006)

Career NBA statistics
Points	7,873 (14.3 ppg)
Rebounds	2,541 (4.6 rpg)
Assists	653 (1.2 apg)

Andrea Bargnani is a former professional basketball player from Italy. He was born on October 26, 1985. Standing 7 feet tall, he played as a power forward and center. He started his career in Italy with Benetton Treviso. Later, he was chosen as the very first pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. He played for 10 seasons in the NBA. His NBA teams included the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. He finished his basketball career playing in Spain during the 2016–17 season.

Andrea Bargnani's Basketball Journey

Starting Out in Italy

Andrea Bargnani began his basketball journey in 2002. He played for Stella Azzurra Roma in Italy's fourth-level league. In his first season, he scored about 13 points and grabbed 4.5 rebounds per game.

In 2003, Bargnani joined Benetton Treviso, a team in Italy's top league. He also played in the EuroLeague, a major European competition. He even played against the Toronto Raptors in a pre-season game in 2003. He scored 13 points in that game.

During the 2005–06 season, he played a big role for Benetton Treviso. He averaged 12 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He also led the Italian league in blocked shots. That season, he helped Benetton win the Italian League championship. He was also named the EuroLeague Rising Star. This award goes to the best young player (22 or under) in the EuroLeague.

NBA Years with the Toronto Raptors

Bargnani with the Raptors in 2007

Many people compared Bargnani to famous German NBA player Dirk Nowitzki. This was because he was tall but could shoot from far away. He was also good at moving and handling the ball. In 2006, the Toronto Raptors picked him first in the NBA draft. He was the first European player ever to be picked first overall.

Rookie Season (2006–07)

Bargnani played his first NBA game on November 1, 2006. He was the fourth Italian-born player to play in the NBA. It took him some time to get used to the league. But he slowly got better and played more. Fans in Toronto started to like him.

He was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month twice. He also played in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge game. This game features the best young players in the NBA. Bargnani finished second in the voting for NBA Rookie of the Year. He helped the Raptors win their first division title. They also made the NBA playoffs for the first time in five years.

Second Season (2007–08)

Before his second season, many thought Bargnani would have a great year. However, he struggled a bit. His stats went down, and he didn't grab as many rebounds. He also got into foul trouble often. Some people even thought he should be traded.

Improving His Game (2008–09)

Bargnani averaged 15.4 points and 1.3 blocks per game in the second half of the 2008–09 season.

The Raptors worked with Bargnani to help him improve. He focused on driving to the basket more instead of just shooting. He also gained more muscle. These changes helped him become a better player. He started playing as a small forward.

He scored a career-high 29 points in November 2008. In January, he played very well, averaging over 21 points per game. He even scored a career-high 31 points in one game. He signed a new contract with the Raptors in 2009. This contract was for five seasons.

Strong Performance (2009–10)

Bargnani going in for a dunk in a game against Miami, 20 November 2009

Bargnani continued to play well in the 2009–10 season. He had many games where he scored a lot of points and grabbed many rebounds. He scored a career-high 34 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers. He also scored 33 points against the Detroit Pistons. He set new career highs in points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes played.

Becoming a Team Leader (2010–11)

After Chris Bosh left the Raptors, Bargnani became the main player on offense. On December 8, 2010, he scored a career-high 41 points against the New York Knicks. He had his best year, averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block per game.

Final Seasons with Toronto (2011–13)

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Bargnani worked on his game. He wanted to become more of a power forward. In March 2012, he scored 26 points in a game. He became the fourth player to score 6,000 points for the Raptors. He missed many games in the 2012–13 season because of an elbow injury.

Moving to the New York Knicks (2013–2015)

In July 2013, Bargnani was traded to the New York Knicks. He played for them for two seasons. In December 2013, he made a strange play in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Knicks were winning by two points with seconds left. Instead of holding the ball, he shot a three-pointer and missed. The game went into double-overtime, but the Knicks still won.

In January 2014, he hurt his left elbow and missed the rest of the season. He also missed many games in the 2014–15 season due to a hamstring and calf injury.

Time with the Brooklyn Nets (2015–2016)

In July 2015, Bargnani signed with the Brooklyn Nets. He played his first game for them in October, scoring 17 points. In December, he scored a season-high 23 points against the Philadelphia 76ers. He was waived by the Nets in February 2016.

Return to Europe with Baskonia (2016–2017)

In July 2016, Bargnani went back to Europe. He signed a two-year deal with Baskonia, a Spanish team. In his first EuroLeague game that season, he scored 26 points. However, he had many injuries again. Baskonia and Bargnani decided to part ways in April 2017. He averaged 8.8 points per game in the EuroLeague.

Playing for Italy

Bargnani playing for the Italian national team

Andrea Bargnani played for Italy's junior and under-20 national teams. He also played for the senior Italian national team in EuroBasket 2007. Italy finished ninth in that competition. He averaged 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

He also played for Italy in EuroBasket 2015. He averaged 14.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Italy finished in sixth place in that tournament.

Career Statistics

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2006–07	Toronto	65	2	25.1	.427	.373	.824	3.9	.8	.5	.8	11.6
2007–08	Toronto	78	53	23.9	.386	.345	.840	3.7	1.1	.3	.5	10.2
2008–09	Toronto	78	59	31.4	.450	.409	.831	5.3	1.2	.4	1.2	15.4
2009–10	Toronto	80	80	35.0	.470	.372	.774	6.3	1.2	.3	1.4	17.2
2010–11	Toronto	66	66	35.7	.448	.345	.820	5.2	1.8	.5	1.7	21.4
2011–12	Toronto	31	31	33.3	.432	.296	.873	5.5	2.0	.6	.5	19.5
2012–13	Toronto	35	25	28.7	.400	.311	.844	3.7	1.1	.6	.7	12.7
2013–14	New York	42	39	29.9	.442	.278	.825	5.3	1.1	.3	1.2	13.3
2014–15	New York	29	22	27.1	.454	.366	.813	4.4	1.6	.1	.9	14.8
2015–16	Brooklyn	46	0	13.8	.455	.188	.825	2.1	.4	.1	.2	6.6
Career		550	377	28.7	.439	.354	.824	4.6	1.2	.4	.9	14.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007	Toronto	6	3	30.2	.478	.412	.789	4.0	1.0	.8	.5	11.0
2008	Toronto	5	5	20.8	.333	.250	1.000	1.4	.4	.8	.6	6.4
Career		11	8	25.9	.412	.333	.810	2.8	.7	.8	.5	8.9

EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Benetton	8	0	8.0	.545	.200	.750	1.5	.0	.3	.1	2.4
2004–05		12	0	9.0	.500	.500	.400	2.1	.2	.2	.2	3.7
2005–06		18	6	21.2	.508	.434	.712	4.1	.5	1.3	.9	10.9
2016–17	Baskonia	15	5	16.0	.458	.304	.750	1.8	.4	.1	.1	8.8
Career		38	6	14.6	.508	.429	.694	2.9	.3	.7	.5	6.8

ACB

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	Baskonia	14	6	20.9	.302	.474	.920	2.5	.7	.3	.4	11.5
Career		14	6	20.9	.302	.474	.920	2.5	.7	.3	.4	11.5

LBA

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Benetton	10	0	8.6	.571	.556	.417	1.6	.4	.4	.2	4.2
2004–05		28	0	14.8	.493	.289	.679	3.1	.6	1.3	.5	6.8
2005–06		47	23	24.4	.483	.399	.790	5.6	.6	1.4	1.3	12.0
Career		85	23	19.4	.490	.383	.739	4.3	.5	1.2	.9	9.4

International career

Year	Competition	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007	EuroBasket	6	6	28.7	.373	.360	.688	5.0	.5	.7	.2	12.7
2009	EuroBasket qualification	4	4	26.8	.400	.154	.625	5.0	.5	.3	1.0	10.8
2010	EuroBasket qualification	8	8	30.6	.524	.367	.732	6.6	.5	.5	2.0	24.1
2011	EuroBasket	5	3	34.2	.466	.350	.833	7.4	.8	.4	1.6	22.8
Career		23	20	30.2	.462	.330	.747	6.1	.6	.5	1.3	18.5

Awards and Honours

Team Achievements

Italian League champion: 2006
Italian Cup winner: 2004, 2005

Individual Awards

EuroLeague Rising Star: 2006
Italian League Best Player Under 22: 2006
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2007
NBA Rookie of the Month: January 2007, February 2007
NBA Live 08: Cover Athlete (Italian Version)