By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Throughout the season many NBA teams’ executives have traveled to Rome in order to see Gigi Datome of local team Virtus Roma perform live. The result of all this buzz was an NBA contract for the 25 years old forward with the Detroit Pistons.
As he announced himself, via Facebook: “I decided to become a player of the Detroit Pistons. I think it may be the right place for me to make another quantum leap in my career and to realize the dream of a lifetime. I am very excited to join the group of players in Detroit. I want to thank my family, president Mr. Toti, all Virtus Roma and its fans for their continued support and wish to Virtus the best for the future”.
As you can see in his full profile, Datome played in the Nike Hoop Summit back in 2006, however he was never drafted and his NBA dream seemed lost. He had a break out season, though, this year, he was named the Italian league MVP and now he is ready to sign a two years contract that will pay him 3,5 m. USD. Ηis former team, Virtus Roma, denied the right to play in Euroleague, despite being the Italian league finalist, due to financial reasons.