Danilo Gallinari Motivated To Return During Celtics’ Playoff Run

The Celtics’ one big offseason move has paid off handsomely, with Malcolm Brogdon taking home the Sixth Man of the Year award while transforming Boston’s bench into one of the league’s most efficient.

Wait, what’s that? They made two significant offseason additions?

Oh yeah.

Danilo Gallinari signed a two-year deal with the Celtics this offseason, with his size and shooting ability being viewed as a key upgrade alongside Brogdon on a bench unit that was detrimental to Boston’s success in the 2022 NBA Finals. The honeymoon phase quickly ended, though, as the 34-year-old suffered an ACL tear when playing for the Italian national team during a FIBA World Cup qualifying game against Georgia in late August.

That pretty much ended his season, or so we thought, as Gallinari is intent on making a return during the Celtics’ run to Banner 18.

“It’s still in my mind,” Gallinari told Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald. “I think that in this situation, you have to use all the motivations that you can. Sometimes during the rehab, you’re going to go through ups and downs, especially mentally. It’s not easy to approach every step of the rehab. And so, that’s still a motivation for me.”

Gallinari is right on schedule with his recovery, though the exact timetable is unknown. It isn’t anything new, however, as he dealt with the same process in 2013.

“For me, especially because I’ve done it unfortunately already, so I know what motivation gets me going every day and just to click my mind to get the best every day,” Gallinari said. “And so that’s one of the motivations that I use to get the best and everything that I have every day.”

There are still steps to go, with time running out, as Gallinari has to ramp up contact and start scrimmaging before a return could ever be possible. With a maximum of four weeks remaining in the season, a return looks unlikely. Yet the sharpshooter remains positive, as he has been throughout the process while sticking around in Boston all the way through the season.

“It’s been great witnessing what these guys have been doing since the beginning of the season,” Gallinari said, per Hewitt. “Of course, the job is not done yet but already what they’ve done has been great. To see how their chemistry is on and off the court, I think I’ve been lucky and honored to be part of something special.”