Simone Fontecchio (born 9 December 1995) 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 ...

player for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). He plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

position.

Youth career

Fontecchio participated in an array of youth tournaments: #2011

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, B ...

International Tour game in London (not to be confused with the International Game of the same tournament) #

2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament The 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament was the 26th edition of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Mannheim and Viernheim from April 7–14. Group stages First Round In this round, the 16 teams were alloc ...

#2012

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Europe #2012-13

Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament The Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament is an international boy's youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the best basketball clubs in Europe in the Under-18 age category. The tournament is organized by Euroleague B ...

Rome tournament. Besides playing for Italy (see International career), he notably won the Italian Under 17 championship in 2011–12 and the Under 19 championship the same season and in 2012-13, all for Virtus Bologna.

Professional career

Fontecchio was promoted from the Virtus U19 to the senior side in 2012-13, alternating between the two during the season. He played a symbolic minute in LBA on 4 November 2011 before posting his first genuine first division stat sheet, missing his five shots for three rebounds and a steal, on 30 December. After an active youth career (see Youth career) and a professional debut at only 17, there was talk of him going to the United States to play high school and later on

College basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

, however he stayed loyal to Virtus and signed a 5-year professional contract with the team in June 2013, his parents had to be present as he was still a minor at the time. After twice being selected to take part in the league All Star Game (2014 and 2015), he was voted Best Player Under 22 in May 2015. That season would also see his first participation in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game as Virtus were swept by title holders

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 ...

. Fontecchio declared for the 2015 NBA draft on 25 April as an early entrant, two years before being automatically eligible in 2017. He attended a draft workout with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

in June 2015, whilst they declaredly considered picking in the second round, he withdrew his candidacy on 16 June 2015. After an unsatisfying 2018-19 season with

, where Fontecchio played an average of less than a minute Euroleague and 2.8 minutes in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

, Fontecchio was set to join his former 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 ...

, coached by

Aleksandar Đorđević Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević or Sale Đorđević (Anglicized: Sasha Djordjevic; sr-Cyrl, Александар Саша Ђорђевић, ; born 26 August 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves ...

, but the agreement was not finalized. On 18 July 2019, Fontecchio signed with

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

in 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-tie ...

(LBA). On 7 July 2020, Fontecchio signed with

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL seaso ...

(BBL). It was here where Fontecchio broke out, averaging 10.6 points in over 23 minutes per game. On 9 July 2021, Fontecchio signed a three-year deal with

Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

of the Liga ACB. On 17 July 2022, Fontecchio signed a two-year contract with the

's (NBA)

. Fontecchio made his NBA debut on 19 October. On 7 December, Fontecchio made a game-winning dunk in a 124–123 win over 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 ...

National team career

Fontecchio has played for the under age teams of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

since turning up for the U16's in the 2011 European Championship (10th place). Since then, he was involved with the U18's in the 2012 European Championship (7th place) and 2013 European Championship (10th place, best scorer for Italy) and the U20's in the 2014 European Championship (10th place). Fontecchio participated to the 2020 Summer Olympics basketball tournament with

, reaching the quarterfinals. He was the leading scorer in Italy's 92–82 win over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, scoring 20 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and stealing 3 balls. He was also Italy's top performer in this game, with a 21 efficiency rate. He was again the leading scorer in Italy's 83–86 loss to eventual bronze medalist Australia, with 22 points. In the third and last game of their group stage, Italy defeated

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

80–71, and Fontecchio tied with Pajola for assists leader. Italy lost 75–84 to eventual silver medalist

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in quarterfinals. In this game, Fontecchio was the leading scorer with 23 points. By the end of the tournament he was ranked among the players who "should be on NBA radars".

Personal life

Fontecchio's mother Malì Pomilio played for Italy and won two European titles for

AS Vicenza Associazione Sportiva Vicenza is an Italian women's basketball team from Vicenza. Founded in 1958, the team reached Serie A in 1963 and two years later it won the first of its twelve Italian Championships. The team dominated the championship in ...

in basketball, and Fontecchio considers her as an influence in his career choice. His father Daniele was a professional hurdler whilst his grandfather was also a basketball player, as is his older brother Luca who has played in the lower divisions after also coming through the youth ranks of Virtus. Fontecchio moved to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

from his native

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated ci ...

at the age of 14, living in shared accommodation with other Virtus youth players.

Career statistics

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3", Olimpia , 10 , , 2 , , 11.7 , , .433 , , .412 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.3 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 5 , , 0 , , .8 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , , - , style="text-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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

, 29 , , 24 , , 23.4 , , .476 , , .388 , , .886 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .2 , , 10.6 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 11 , , 26.4 , , .475 , , .426 , , .793 , , 4.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 11.9 , , 13.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 63 , , 37 , , 19.8 , , .470 , , .400 , , .844 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.6 , , 8.4

Lega Basket Serie A

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, style="text-align:left" rowspan="4",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 12.8 , , .324 , , .222 , , .800 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 25 , , 15.4 , , .426 , , .345 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 30 , , 24.5 , , .384 , , .292 , , .659 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 30 , , 27.5 , , .397 , , .328 , , .838 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left" rowspan="2",

, style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 28 , , 12.1 , , .495 , , .422 , , .714 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 4 , , 7.5 , , .286 , , .200 , , , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Vanoli Cremona , style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 23 , , 23.6 , , .422 , , .385 , , .806 , , 3.1 , , .8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Serie A , 34 , , 12 , , .443 , , .375 , , .857 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.0 Sources: Serie A

References

External links

EuroLeague.net profile

Virtus Bologna profile

Eurobasket profile

DraftExpress profile

Players Group agency profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontecchio, Simone 1995 births Living people Alba Berlin players Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Italian expatriate basketball people in Germany Italian expatriate basketball people in Spain Italian men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players National Basketball Association players from Italy Olimpia Milano players Olympic basketball players of Italy Pallacanestro Reggiana players Saski Baskonia players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Pescara Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players Vanoli Cremona players Virtus Bologna players