Italian Basketball Federation President Blasts Paolo Banchero After He Committed To Play For Team USA

Paolo Banchero has been blasted by the president of the Italian Basketball Federation after he committed to play for Team USA.

4 Min Read

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With the 2023 FIBA World Cup not too far away now, Paolo Banchero had a big decision to make, whether to represent Italy or the USA.

Banchero ultimately chose Team USA , and it is a decision that hasn’t sat too well with the Italian Federation. Their president Gianni Petrucci blasted Banchero as he was disappointed with how the 20-year-old acted in the lead-up to the decision.

“It was a legitimate decision, but he could have made a call to communicate that to us. Instead, we learned about his decision from the newspapers,” Petrucci told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “In the past few days, he was in Milan, and despite our agreements with his agency, he avoided the meeting with coach Pozzecco.”

“Betrayal, especially in basketball, is a strong word,” Petrucci continued. “Situations like this happen, and personally, I’m used to it. But he fooled us, we were planning a great commercial strategy for him. Now we need to turn this disappointment into positive energy, I’m sure our coach will be able to do it.”

Safe to say that bridge has been completely burned at this point. Banchero was eligible to play for them as he has Italian roots on his father’s side and he received his Italian passport back in 2020. This indeed is a huge blow to the Italians, as Banchero could have been their big star.

He had a terrific rookie season in 2022-23 for the Orlando Magic, averaging 20.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, and 0.5 BPG as he won Rookie of the Year. His talents would have greatly benefited the Italians, but they will now be put to use for Team USA.


Paolo Banchero Had Previously Expressed Interest In Playing For Italy

The reason why this would have hurt the Italians just that little bit more is that Banchero had spoken in the past about wanting to play for them. During an appearance on RJ Hampton’s podcast last year, he even stated he planned to play for Italy.

“When I was 16, the Italian national team reached out to my dad,” Banchero said. “… They were like, ‘Yo, He’s Italian? Can he get citizenship?’ And then my dad was like, ‘Yeah, he can.’… (I) plan on playing for the Italian national team, not sure when.”

(starts at 23:19 mark):

The Italians clearly had their eye on Banchero for a while, and comments like that would have made them believe he would play for them. Banchero is obviously entitled to change his stance at any point, but you can’t blame the Italians for not being too pleased.

If he does get to face Italy at the World Cup, he can expect quite a frosty reception from fans and his opponents.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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