For Danilo Gallinari, the N.B.A. Shutdown Wasn’t So Sudden

“It was a mistake that we did as Italian citizens, and I put myself in, too, because I’m Italian even if I live in the States,” Gallinari said. “Of course we did a mistake not taking it seriously in Italy and now we are the second- or third-worst country in the world for this virus. Hopefully we’re not going to make the same mistake in the States.”

Thunder players were asked to stay in the locker room after the game against Utah was canceled so they could be checked for fevers. A Thunder spokesman said on Sunday that Thunder players were subsequently tested for the coronavirus after the team secured test kits through “alternative” means so as not to further deplete the supply in Oklahoma, but results had not yet been announced as of Sunday night.

Gallinari said he had scarcely touched a ball since the N.B.A. was placed on hiatus, restricting himself to exercises he can do in his condo and, of course, checking in constantly with family members.

Gallinari’s younger brother, Federico, is a redshirt sophomore on the basketball team at Rochester University, an N.A.I.A. school in Rochester Hills, Mich. Their father, Vittorio, a former professional basketball player in Italy, is frequently in the United States on business and is currently in Denver, where Danilo played for five and a half seasons. The rest of the family, including the brothers’ mother, Marilisa, is in Italy — but travel restrictions prevent her from visiting Danilo’s grandparents roughly 30 minutes away.

Gallinari has been frequently in contact with all of them using FaceTime and Skype. He is also trying to lend support to his friend Curti, who works in the private sector in Belgium, and his friends within the game like Mitchell Poletti, who plays for Scaligera Basket Verona in Italy’s second division. Poletti’s wife and son are 90 minutes away from him, but “he hasn’t seen them for 15 days,” Gallinari said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/sports/basketball/danilo-gallinari-italy.html