Italian basketball veteran Marco Belinelli is preparing to hang up his sneakers at the end of the current season, concluding a remarkable professional journey that spanned both the NBA and European leagues. After leaving the NBA in 2020, Belinelli returned to Italy and signed with Virtus Bologna, where he has spent the last five years playing in his hometown.
Now 39, Belinelli is set to retire, according to Virtus Bologna president Massimo Zanetti. The club is already preparing for a generational shift, with plans to move forward without some of its veteran players.
“Next year, we will have a younger team. We know Tornike Shengelia is leaving and Marco Belinelli will retire,” Zanetti said. Shengelia, a former NBA forward with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls, has become one of Europe’s top performers since transitioning from the NBA.
Belinelli, The Ultimate Journeyman
Belinelli’s NBA career began in 2007 after he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors. For the past thirteen seasons, he has played for exactly nine different NBA teams, hardly staying in one place for more than two seasons. His adaptability and consistent shooting of the ball has made him a valuable role player wherever he landed.
Among all his stops, his time with the San Antonio Spurs stood out. Belinelli had two separate stints with the franchise—2013 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2020—combining for four total seasons. During the 2013-14 campaign, he delivered one of his finest NBA seasons, averaging 11.1 points per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. That year, he finished 11th in Sixth Man of the Year voting and won the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend.
He also played an important role in the Spurs’ 2014 championship run. The team defeated the Miami Heat in five games, showcasing a modern style of offense built on passing and perimeter shooting. Belinelli, who shot 43.0% from three-point range that season, was a significant contributor to the Spurs’ success.
A Season-Changing Pick-Up
Years later, in 2018, Belinelli became one of the most impactful midseason acquisitions in recent NBA memory.
After joining the Atlanta Hawks in 2017 as part of the Dwight Howard trade with the Charlotte Hornets, Belinelli found himself on a struggling team. The Hawks waived him midway through a tough season, which led to the Philadelphia 76ers signing him for the league minimum. Alongside Ersan Ilyasova, another key midseason pick-up, Belinelli helped fortify the Sixers’ bench rotation.
Philadelphia advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics. After that run, Belinelli returned to the Spurs to finish his NBA career. Back in Europe, he added several accolades to his résumé, including four Italian Supercups, a EuroCup title, and an Italian League MVP award, highlighting his continued excellence after returning home.
Throughout his NBA career, Belinelli played in 860 regular season games and appeared in 65 playoff contests, the most of any Italian player in league history. He averaged 9.7 points per game and carved out a strong legacy as a reliable scorer and sharp shooter. For a 17th overall draft pick, Belinelli more than lived up to expectations, bridging the basketball worlds of Europe and North America with consistency and class.
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