Olimpia Milano – Wikipedia

Posted on January 24, 2016 by lordneo

Professional basketball team

Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor,^[2] is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes referred as “Scarpette Rosse” (Little Red Shoes) because team officials imported red Converse All-Star shoes for players from the United States. The tag line stuck, and the nickname is still used by many fans today.

As per custom in the Italian league, sponsorship has kept the team name changing frequently. From 1930 until 1955, it was called Borletti Milano. From 1956 to 1973, it was renamed Simmenthal. Other famous sponsorship names were Billy, Simac, Tracer, and Philips, in the 1980s. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.

Olimpia is the most successful basketball club in Italy and one of the most successful in Europe, having won 29 Italian League Championships, 8 Italian National Cups, 4 Italian Super Cups, 3 EuroLeague, 1 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, 3 FIBA Saporta Cups, 2 FIBA Korać Cups and many junior titles.

In 2016, the club was included in the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame.

History[edit]

The birth and the Borletti era (1930-1955)[edit]

The birth of Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano is traditionally dated 1936, year of the first Italian League Championship title. Actually it was founded 6 years earlier (in 1930) as “Dopolavoro Borletti” by Fratelli Borletti managers.^[3] Borletti team won 4 consecutive Italian League Championships from 1936 to 1939.

In 1947, Milan businessman Adolfo Bogoncelli merged Pallacanestro Como and Borletti to form a new society,^[4] commonly known as “Borolimpia”. “Borletti” brand was the main sponsor of the team, becoming the first sponsor in the history of Italian sport.^[5]

In 1955, after 9 Italian League Championships, Borletti brand leaves Olimpia Milano jersey.

The Simmenthal era (1956-1973)[edit]

The team regularly won the Italian League Championship in the 1950s and the 1960s, with players including Gabriele Vianello, Sandro Riminucci, Gianfranco Pieri, and Bill Bradley. In 1966, Olimpia won its first FIBA European Champions Cup.

In the 1970s, three teams were fighting across Europe for supremacy: Olimpia Milano, Ignis Varese, and Real Madrid. Pallacanestro Varese and Olimpia Milano were arch-rivals, as the two cities are 25 miles (40 km) apart. While Milano was a frequent Italian League champion, they were unable to win again the prestigious FIBA European Champions Cup. Late in the 1970s, the quality of the club declined, but Olimpia Milano still managed to win a FIBA Cup Winners’ Cup.

In 1973, Simmenthal brand leaves Olimpia jersey after 17 years and 10 Italian League Championships.

1974–2007[edit]

In the 1970s through the 1980s, the team acquired several notable players, including the Boselli twins (Franco and Dino), Mike Sylvester, Chas Menatti, Dino Meneghin, Mike D’Antoni, John Gianelli, Roberto Premier. Bob McAdoo, Joe Barry Carroll, Russ Schoene, Antoine Carr, and Mike Brown. American head coach Dan Peterson led the team back to prominence.

In the 1980s, the team was sold to the Gabetti family. After this, they qualified for nine Serie A championships finals, winning five, with the 1987 team winning the Serie A title, the 1986–87 FIBA European Champions Cup (won also in 1988: both finals were won against Maccabi Tel Aviv), the Italian Cup and the 1987 FIBA Club World Cup. This gave the club the coveted “Triple Crown” and the even rarer “Quadruple Crown”.

Led by point guard Sasha Djordjević, the team won another FIBA Korać Cup in 1993. Bepi Stefanel purchased the team franchise in 1994, and signed-up notable European players like Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fučka, Sandro De Pol, and Nando Gentile. In 1996, the team won the Italian Cup and its 25th Italian National Championship, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the club.

Team management was inconsistent, as ownership groups from 1998 to 2004. Players of the team included Warren Kidd, Hugo Sconochini, Claudio Coldebella and Petar Naumoski. In 2005, owner Corbelli, which bought the club in 2002, from Sergio Tacchini, was flanked by Adriano Galliani (managing director of Italian Football club A.C. Milan), Massimo Moratti (President of rival club Internazionale), NBA star Kobe Bryant, and stylist Giorgio Armani, as sponsor with the Armani Jeans brand. After difficult years, led by coach Lino Lardo, Olimpia reached the national championship Finals, finally being beaten by Climamio Bologna.

On January 25, 2006, in the midst of a disappointing season in the EuroLeague and domestically, Djordjevic was named as the team’s new coach. He left as coach after the 2006–07 season, but not before securing Olimpia a berth in the 2007–08 Euroleague.

2008–present[edit]

In 2008, Giorgio Armani bought the team from Giorgio Corbelli, standing as the only owner, entirely changing the management structure, naming Livio Proli as president, and Lucio Zanca as general manager. Piero Bucchi was chosen to coach the new team, leading Olimpia twice to second place in LEGA Basket, being defeated by Montepaschi Siena in both cases.

In January 2011, after 23 years, coach Dan Peterson came back from retirement to replace Piero Bucchi as head coach. However, his stint at Olimpia Milano this time was quite short: after failing to reach the championship Finals, on June 9, Olimpia Milano announced Sergio Scariolo as new head coach for the 2011–12 season. The first player signed for the 2011–12 season was Omar Cook, an American-born play maker, who had played the previous season with Power Electronics Valencia. Owing to the NBA lockout, Danilo Gallinari went back to his alma mater, playing 15 games (8 in the Italian League, 7 in EuroLeague): he left the team in December.
Sergio Scariolo was replaced by Luca Banchi at the beginning of the 2013–14 season, and the team brought from Montepaschi Siena: David Moss, Kristjan Kangur, and Daniel Hackett.

The team reached the quarterfinals of EuroLeague, 16 years after its last appearance, but the team lost against the eventual league champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv. The team finished in the 1st position the LEGA Basket regular season, and in the 7th game of the playoff’s finals, Olimpia won its 26th Italian League championship title, its first after 18 years. Alessandro Gentile, the captain of Olimpia, was named MVP of the finals.

On June 29, 2017, Simone Pianigiani was hired as the new head coach and on June 15, 2018, Milano went to win his 28th title by beating Dolomiti Energia Trento in game 6 of the 2018 LBA Finals.^[6]

On June 11, 2019, legend Ettore Messina signed a deal as the new head coach of the club and president of all basketball operations for the following three seasons.^[7]

On May 4, 2021, the club reached the Euroleague Final Four after 29 years (1992 Final Four).^[8]

(The current non-sponsorship logo of the club).
(The Emporio Armani era sponsorship logo of the club).
(A previous non-sponsorship logo of the club).

Arena	Capacity	Years	Notes
Court of Via Costanza	—	1930–1948	Outdoor court of the OND Borletti factory
Palazzo dello Sport della Fiera	c. 18,000	1948-1960	The first sports palace of Milan and the biggest in Europe at that time
PalaLido	c. 10,000 (3,500)*	1960–1980 (1985)*	Indoor arena specifically designed for basketball *(temporarily used in 1985-86 season)
Palasport di San Siro	c. 15,000	1980–1985	On January 17, 1985, a large snowfall collapsed the roof and the arena was closed
PalaTrussardi	10,045	1986–1990	Also known as “PalaVobis”, “Mazda Palace” and “PalaSharp”
Mediolanum Forum	12,700	1990–present	Originally named “the Forum of Assago”, it was previously known as “FilaForum” and “DatchForum”.

Secondary Arenas[edit]

Arena	Capacity	Years	Notes
PalaLido	3,800	1990–2011	Used when Mediolanum Forum was unavailable
PalaDesio	6,700	2011–2019	In 2011, the old PalaLido was destroyed and rebuilt. PalaDesio was used as a secondary arena during the construction of the new arena
Allianz Cloud	5,347	2019–present	Built in place of the old PalaLido, it is used when Mediolanum Forum is unavailable

Olimpia Milano used the OND Borletti outdoor court of Via Costanza for almost 20 years. In the mid-1940s, they moved to the Palazzo dello Sport della Fiera, which had a seating capacity of 18,000 people, and was then the largest indoor sports arena in Europe, and second only to the Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 1960, the Palazzo dello Sport della Fiera was abandoned, and Olimpia moved into the original structure of the PalaLido, which then had a smaller seating capacity of 3,500, but because of lack of security measures at the time, often was filled with up to 10,000 people.

At the end of the 1970s, Olimpia moved into the newly built Palasport di San Siro, a multi-purpose facility built next to the Meazza Stadium, that was able to hold about 15,000 spectators. In 1985, the roof of the Palasport di San Siro collapsed and Olimpia returned to PalaLido for a season, waiting for the construction of a provisional arena. In 1986, they moved into the recently built 10,045 seat PalaTrussardi, where they played through the early 1990s.

The club then moved into its current home arena, the Mediolanum Forum, which has a seating capacity of 12,700.^[9] The club has also played some home games at the 6,700 seat PalaDesio. Recently, the club considered moving back to the newly rebuilt and modernized PalaLido (named Allianz Cloud), after it was remodeled, and had its seating capacity expanded. However, the club ultimately decided to continue using the Mediolanum Forum as its home arena, due to its much larger seating capacity, as compared to the new Allianz Cloud. However, the new arena is used when Mediolanum Forum is unavailable.

Honours[edit]

Domestic competitions[edit]

Winners (29): 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22

Runners-up (18): 1934, 1940–41, 1955–56, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1990–91, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12

Winners (8): 1971–72, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1995–96, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21, 2021–22

Runners-up (2): 1969–70, 2014–15

Winners (4): 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020

Runners-up (3): 1996, 2014, 2015, 2021

European competitions[edit]

Winners (3): 1965–66, 1986–87, 1987–88

Runners-up (2): 1966–67, 1982–83

Semifinalists (3): 1963–64, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1985–86

3rd place (2): 1991–92, 2020–21

Final Four (5): 1966, 1967, 1988, 1992, 2021

Winners (3): 1970–71, 1971–72, 1975–76

Runners-up (2): 1983–84, 1997–98

Semifinalists (1): 1976–77

Winners (2): 1984–85, 1992–93

Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 1995–96

Semifinalists (3): 1977–78, 1988–89, 1993–94

3rd place (2): 1985, 1989

4th place (2): 1986, 1987

Winners (1): 1966

Runners-up (1): 1953

Worldwide competitions[edit]

Winners (1): 1987

3rd place (2): 1967, 1968

3rd place (2): 1987, 1989

Unofficial[edit]

Winners (1): 1986–87

Winners (1): 1971–72

Other Competitions[edit]

Castellanza, Italy Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2007

Memoriale di Tulio Rochlitzer

Winners (1): 2007

Winners (2): 2007, 2011

Reggio Emilia, Italy Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2008

Winners (2): 2009, 2016

Winners (3): 2009, 2018, 2019

Verona, Italy Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2011

Trofeo de Ejea de los Caballeros

Winners (1): 2011

Belgrade, Serbia Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2014

Torneo del Circuito della Valtellina

Winners (1): 2014

Trofeo Memorial Gianni Brusinelli

Winners (1): 2016

Winners (1): 2017

Winners (1): 2019

Milan, Italy Invitational Game

Winners (1): 2019

Players[edit]

Current roster[edit]

Olimpia Milano roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
C	0	Davies, Brandon	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	109 kg (240 lb)	31 – (1991-07-25)25 July 1991
F	1	Thomas, Deshaun	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	104 kg (229 lb)	31 – (1991-08-29)29 August 1991
G/F	2	Luwawu-Cabarrot, Timothé	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	98 kg (216 lb)	27 – (1995-05-09)9 May 1995
G	3	Mitrou-Long, Naz	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	99 kg (218 lb)	29 – (1993-08-03)3 August 1993
PG	5	Pangos, Kevin	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	30 – (1993-01-26)26 January 1993
G	7	Tonut, Stefano	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	29 – (1993-11-07)7 November 1993
F/C	9	Melli, Nicolò	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	110 kg (243 lb)	32 – (1991-01-26)26 January 1991
SG	12	Baron, Billy	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	32 – (1990-12-11)11 December 1990
PG	13	Napier, Shabazz	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	79 kg (174 lb)	31 – (1991-07-14)14 July 1991
PF	17	Ricci, Giampaolo	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	31 – (1991-09-27)27 September 1991
C	19	Biligha, Paul	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	32 – (1990-05-31)31 May 1990
G/F	22	Hall, Devon	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	27 – (1995-07-07)7 July 1995
PG	25	Baldasso, Tommaso	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	80 kg (176 lb)	25 – (1998-01-29)29 January 1998
G/F	31	Shields, Shavon	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	28 – (1994-06-05)5 June 1994
SF	40	Alviti, Davide	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	26 – (1996-11-05)5 November 1996
F/C	42	Hines, Kyle	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	115 kg (254 lb)	36 – (1986-09-02)2 September 1986
F	70	Datome, Luigi	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	101 kg (223 lb)	35 – (1987-11-27)27 November 1987
F/C	77	Voigtmann, Johannes	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	115 kg (254 lb)	30 – (1992-09-30)30 September 1992

Head coach

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Updated: March 31, 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Depth chart[edit]

6+6 format (colours: Italian or homegrown players; foreign players; young players; injured or inactive players)

Retired numbers[edit]

Season by season[edit]

Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions[edit]

Season	Achievement	Notes
EuroLeague
1957–58	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Honvéd, 80-72 (W) in Milan and 85-95 (L) in Budapest
1962–63	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Dinamo Tbilisi, 70-65 (W) in Tbilisi and 68-74 (L) in Milan
1963–64	Semi-finals	eliminated by Real Madrid, 82-77 (W) in Milan and 78-101 (L) in Madrid
1965–66	Champions	defeated CSKA Moscow 68–57 in the semi-final, defeated Slavia VŠ Praha 77–72 in the final of the Final Four in Bologna / Milan
1966–67	Final	defeated Slavia VŠ Praha 103–97 in the semi-final, lost to Real Madrid 83–91 in the final (Madrid)
1967–68	Semi-finals	eliminated by Spartak ZJŠ Brno, 64-63 (W) in Milan, 86-103 (L) in Brno
1972–73	Semi-finals	eliminated by Ignis Varese, 72-97 (L) in Milan, 100-115 (L) in Varese
1982–83	Final	lost to Ford Cantù, 68–69 in the final (Grenoble)
1985–86	Semi-final group stage	3rd place in a group with Cibona, Žalgiris, Real Madrid, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Limoges CSP
1986–87	Champions	defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv, 71–69 in the final of European Champions Cup in Lausanne
1987–88	Champions	defeated Aris 87–82 in the semi-final, defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 90–84 in the final of the Final Four in Ghent
1989–90	Quarter-finals	5th place in a group with FC Barcelona, Jugoplastika, Limoges CSP, Aris, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Commodore Den Helder and Lech Poznań
1991–92	Final Four	3rd place in Istanbul, lost to Partizan 75–82 in the semi-final, defeated Estudiantes Caja Postal 99–81 in the 3rd place game
1996–97	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–1 by Smelt Olimpija, 94–90 (W) in Milan, 69–73 (L) in Ljubljana, 61-77 (L) in Milan
2013–14	Quarter-finals	eliminated 3-1 by Maccabi Tel Aviv, 99-101 (L) and 91-77 (W) in Milan, 63-75 (L) and 66-86 (L) in Tel Aviv
2020–21	Final Four	3rd place in Cologne, lost to FC Barcelona 82–84 in the semi-final, defeated CSKA Moscow 83–73 in the 3rd place game
FIBA Saporta Cup
1970–71	Champions	defeated Spartak Leningrad 56–66 (L) in Leningrad and 71-52 (W) in Milan in the double final of FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup
1971–72	Champions	defeated Crvena zvezda 74–70 in the final of FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup in Thessaloniki
1975–76	Champions	defeated ASPO Tours 88–83 in the final of FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup in Turin
1976–77	Semi-finals	eliminated by Forst Cantù, 78-101 (L) in Cantù and 98-95 (W) in Milan
1983–84	Final	lost to Real Madrid 81–82 in the final (Ostend)
1997–98	Final	lost to Žalgiris 67–82 in the final (Belgrade)
FIBA Korać Cup
1977–78	Semi-finals	eliminated by Bosna, 79-76 (W) in Milan and 81-101 (L) in Sarajevo
1984–85	Champions	defeated Ciaocrem Varese, 91–78 in the final of FIBA Korać Cup in Brussels
1988–89	Semi-finals	eliminated by Wiwa Vismara Cantù, 81-95 (L) in Cantù and 70-65 (W) in Milan
1992–93	Champions	defeated Virtus Roma, 95-90 (W) in Rome and 106-91 (W) in Milan in the double finals of FIBA Korać Cup
1993–94	Semi-finals	eliminated by Stefanel Trieste, 79-96 (L) in Trieste and 103-96 (W) in Milan
1994–95	Final	lost to Alba Berlin, 87-87 (D) in Milan and 79-85 (L) in Berlin
1995–96	Final	lost to Efes Pilsen, 68-76 (L) in Istanbul and 77-70 (W) in Milan
EuroCup Basketball
2015–16	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Dolomiti Energia Trento, 73-83 (L) in Trento and 79-92 (L) in Milan
FIBA Intercontinental Cup
1967	3rd place	3rd place in Rome, lost to Ignis Varese 70–79 in the semi-final, defeated Corinthians 90–89 in the 3rd place game
1968	3rd place	3rd place in Philadelphia, lost to Real Madrid 84–93 in the semi-final, defeated Botafogo 82–54 in the 3rd place game
1983	5th place	5th place with a 2–3 record in a league tournament in Buenos Aires
1987	Champions	defeated FC Barcelona 100–84 in the final of FIBA Club World Cup in Milan
McDonald’s Championship
1987	3rd place	3rd place in a three teams Tournament in Milwaukee with Milwaukee Bucks and Soviet Union
1989	3rd place	3rd place in Rome, lost to Jugoplastika 97–102 in the semi-final, defeated FC Barcelona 136–104 in the 3rd place game

Matches against NBA teams[edit]

Logo of Armani Jeans Milano (2004–2011)

Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:^[15]

Notable players[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club. Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time. Played at least one official NBA match at any time.