Ettore Messina (born 30 September 1959) is an Italian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who is the head coach of

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

(LBA). He has won four EuroLeague championships as a

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. Messina is regarded as one of the best

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an basketball coaches of all time, having been named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008. He was named the Italian League's Best Coach three times, in the years 1998, 2001, and 2005. Furthermore, he has been named EuroLeague's

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

twice, in 2006 and 2008. He was inducted into the

Italian Basketball Hall of Fame The Italian Basketball Hall of Fame ( it, Italia Basket Hall of Fame, IBHOF) is a hall of fame that honours individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of Italian basketball, through their sporting contributio ...

in 2008, and into the Russian

VTB United League Hall of Fame The VTB United League Hall of Fame (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ Зал славы, VTBHOF) is a hall of fame that honours individuals that have made important contributions to the premiere professional basketball league in Russia, the ...

, in 2019. Messina also previously worked with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, as an assistant coach for

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spur ...

, from 2014 to 2019.

Club coaching career

Virtus Bologna

Messina had two different stints (1989–1993 and 1997–2002) as the

at the Italian League team,

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

. In the 1989–90 season, he won the Italian Cup and also the second-tier level European-wide league, the FIBA Cup Winners' Cup, against Real Madrid, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. He also won the Italian League national championship in 1993. During his second stint at Virtus, he coached the team to win the first-tier level European-wide EuroLeague championship, in both 1997–98 and 2000–01. He also added two Italian League championships to his trophy case in 1998 and 2001, as well as three Italian Cup titles in 1999, 2001, and 2002.

Benetton Treviso

Messina then served as the head coach of the Italian League club Benetton Treviso, where he succeeded

Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...

as head coach, in 2002. He stayed there for 3 seasons. With Treviso, he won the Italian League championship in 2003, and also the Italian Cup title thrice, adding them to a total streak of 5 consecutive titles, with two different clubs.

CSKA Moscow

Messina then joined the Russian club

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

in 2005, and led the team to the EuroLeague's 2005–06 title, and the coveted

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, in his first season there. On 4 May 2008, CSKA won the EuroLeague championship again under Messina - the club gained its sixth EuroLeague title by downing

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

at the 2007–08 Madrid edition of the

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...

. He resigned from CSKA immediately after leading them to a Russian Championship and the

EuroLeague Final The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 195 ...

, during the 2008–09 season. He was offered a position as the technical director at CSKA, but at the time of his resignation, he had not decided whether or not he wanted to stay with the club.

Real Madrid

Messina was announced as the new head coach of the Spanish League club Real Madrid, on 18 June 2009, and signed his contract with the club the following day. After Real Madrid had several poor performances, Messina resigned from the club's head coach position, in March 2011.

Los Angeles Lakers

Messina was frequently the subject of speculation linking him with vacant coaching jobs in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. For example, he was one of the many coaches in the discussion for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

head coaching role, and it was also rumored that he would join the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

and

coaching staffs. Messina eventually agreed to join the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, as part of head coach Mike Brown's coaching staff, as a full-time consultant to the head coach, for the 2011–12 season.

Return to CSKA Moscow

In June 2012, Messina decided to leave his job as a consultant for the

, and he returned to

, to become the team's head coach. In June 2014, he parted ways with CSKA Moscow.

San Antonio Spurs

On 15 July 2014, Messina was hired by the

, as an assistant coach. On 16 October 2014, Messina would coach the Spurs in a 121–90 preseason win against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, due to

being unable to travel with the team at the time. Messina would later take on the role of the World Team's head coach in the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

NBA

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...

. On 7–8 March 2016, Messina again served as head coach of the Spurs, for two games, due to

leaving the team for a family emergency. On 19 April 2018, Messina temporarily took over head coaching duties of the team in their playoff series versus the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, due to Popovich having left the team in light of his wife's death the previous night.

Olimpia Milano

On 11 June 2019, Messina signed a three-year contract, and agreed to become the new head coach and President of Basketball Operations of the Italian club

National team coaching career

From 1993 to 1997 Messina was the head coach of the senior men's

Italian national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team ( it, Nazionale di pallacanestro dell'Italia) represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBa ...

. He coached Italy at the 1993 EuroBasket and the

1995 EuroBasket The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to e ...

, and he also led Italy to the silver medal at the

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...

. In 2016, Messina took a short leave of absence from the San Antonio Spurs, in order to return as the head coach of the Azzurri, with the goal of qualifying for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Game. Messina coached Italy at the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. At the qualification tournament, Italy lost to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, and thus failed to qualify to the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also coached Italy at the

2017 EuroBasket EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

Coaching record

, - , align="left" rowspan=6,

, align="left" , 1991–92 , 19, , 13, , 6, , , , align="center" , Lost in Quarterfinal Playoffs , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , 16, , 8, , 8, , , , align="center" , Lost in Quarterfinal Playoffs , - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , 1997–98 , 22, , 19, , 3, , , , align="center" , Won EuroLeague Championship , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , 23, , 15, , 8, , , , align="center" , Lost in

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 1958� ...

, - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , 2000–01 , 23, , 20, , 3, , , , align="center" , Won EuroLeague Championship , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , 22, , 17, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in

, - , align="left" rowspan=3,

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, align="left" , 2002–03 , 22, , 18, , 4, , , , align="center" , Lost in

, - , align="left" , 2003–04 , 20, , 14, , 6, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , 22, , 12, , 10, , , , align="center" , Lost in Quarterfinal Playoffs , - , align="left" rowspan=5,

, - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , 2005–06 , 24, , 19, , 5, , , , align="center" , Won EuroLeague Championship , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , 25, , 22, , 3, , , , align="center" , Lost in

, - ! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , 2007–08 , 25, , 20, , 5, , , , align="center" , Won Euroleague Championship , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , 21, , 16, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in

, - , align="left" rowspan=2, Real Madrid , align="left" , 2009–10 , 20, , 12, , 8, , , , align="center" , Lost in Quarterfinal Playoffs , - , align="left" , 2010–11 , 16, , 11, , 5, , , , align="center" , (resigned) , - , align="left" rowspan=2,

, align="left" , 2012–13 , 26, , 21, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in EuroLeague Semifinals , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , 31, , 22, , 9, , , , align="center" , Lost in EuroLeague Semifinals , - , align="left" rowspan=3, AX Armani Exchange Milan , align="left" , 2019-20 , 28, , 12, , 16, , , , align="center" , Season was cancelled due to the

Covid-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, - , align="left" , 2020-21 , 41, , 25, , 16, , , , align="center" , Lost in EuroLeague Semifinals , - , align="left" , 2021-22 , , , , , , , , , , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 377, , 279, , 98, , , ,

Domestic Leagues

, - , align="left" ,

PBC CSKA Moscow PBC CSKA Moscow (russian: ПБК ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian professional basketball team based in Moscow, Russia. The club is a member of the VTB United League, and was a member of the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketb ...

, align="left" , 2007–08 , 32, , 31, , 1, , .9688 , , align="center", Won 2008 Russian Super League 1 Finals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , 2008–09 , 32, , 30, , 2, , .9375 , , align="center", Won 2009 Russian Super League 1 Finals , - , align="left" , Real Madrid , align="left" , 2009–10 , 42, , 31, , 11, , .7381 , , align="center", Lost 2010 Liga ACB Second Round , - , align="left" , Real Madrid , align="left" , 2010–11 , 40, , 29, , 11, , .7250 , , align="center", Lost 2011 Liga ACB Second Round , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , 2012–13 , 31, , 24, , 7, , .7742 , , align="center", Won 2013 VTB United League Finals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , 2013–14 , 29, , 24, , 5, , .8276 , , align="center", Won 2014 VTB United League Finals , - , align="left" , AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan , align="left" , 2019–20 , 21, , 14, , 7, , .7500 , , align="center", League cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, - , align="left" , AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan , align="left" ,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 38, , 28, , 10, , .7368 , , align="center", Lost 2021 Italian League Finals , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 265, , , 213, , , 52, , .8038, ,

References

External links

Euroleague.net Coaching ProfileSpanish League Coaching Profile

Italian League Coaching Profile

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors Ettore Messina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messina, Ettore 1959 births Living people EuroLeague-winning coaches Italian basketball coaches Italian expatriate basketball people in Russia Italian expatriate basketball people in Spain Italian expatriate basketball people in the United States Italian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Liga ACB head coaches FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Olimpia Milano coaches Pallacanestro Treviso coaches PBC CSKA Moscow coaches Real Madrid basketball coaches San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches Virtus Bologna coaches