Simone Fontecchio

Simone Fontecchio

No. 19–Detroit Pistons
Position	Small forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1995-12-09) 9 December 1995 (age 28) Pescara, Italy
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2017: undrafted
Playing career	2012–present
Career history
2012–2016	Virtus Bologna
2016–2019	Olimpia Milano
2017–2018	→Vanoli Cremona
2019–2020	Reggiana
2020–2021	Alba Berlin
2021–2022	Baskonia
2022–2024	Utah Jazz
2024–present	Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Italian Cup winner (2016) 3× Italian Super Cup winner (2016–2018) LBA All-Star (2014) LBA Best Player Under 22 (2015) All-Bundesliga Second Team (2021)
Stats   at NBA.com
Stats   at Basketball-Reference.com

Simone Fontecchio (born 9 December 1995) is an Italian professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays at the small forward position.

Youth career

Fontecchio participated in an array of youth tournaments:

1. 2011 Jordan Brand Classic International Tour game in London (not to be confused with the International Game of the same tournament)
2. 2012 Albert Schweitzer Tournament
3. 2012 Basketball Without Borders Europe
4. 2012-13 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament Rome tournament. ^[1]

Fontecchio 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. ^[2]

Professional career

Virtus Bologna (2012–2016)

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. ^[3]

After an active 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, however he stayed loyal to Virtus and signed a five-year professional contract with the team in June 2013, his parents had to be present as he was still a minor at the time. ^[4]

After twice being selected to take part in the league All Star Game (2014 and 2015), ^[5] he was voted Best Player Under 22 in May 2015. ^[6] That season would also see his first participation in the playoffs, scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game as Virtus were swept by title holders Olimpia Milano.

Fontecchio declared for the 2015 NBA draft on 25 April as an early entrant, two years before being automatically eligible in 2017. ^[7] He attended a draft workout with the Boston Celtics in June 2015, ^[8] whilst they declaredly considered picking in the second round, he withdrew his candidacy on 16 June 2015. ^[9]

Olimpia Milano (2016–2019)

After an unsatisfying 2018-19 season with Olimpia Milano, where Fontecchio played an average of less than a minute Euroleague ^[10] and 2.8 minutes in Serie A, ^[11] Fontecchio was set to join his former team Virtus Bologna, coached by Aleksandar Đorđević, but the agreement was not finalized. ^[12]

Reggio Emilia (2019–2020)

On 18 July 2019, Fontecchio signed with Reggio Emilia in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). ^[13]

Alba Berlin (2020–2021)

On 7 July 2020, Fontecchio signed with Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). ^[14] It was here where Fontecchio broke out, averaging 10.6 points in over 23 minutes per game. ^[15]

Baskonia (2021–2022)

On 9 July 2021, Fontecchio signed a three-year deal with Baskonia of the Liga ACB. ^[16]

Utah Jazz (2022–2024)

On 17 July 2022, Fontecchio signed a two-year contract with the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Utah Jazz. ^{[17] [18]} Fontecchio made his NBA debut on 19 October. ^[19] On 7 December, Fontecchio made a game-winning dunk in a 124–123 win over the Golden State Warriors. ^[20] Fontecchio's career high came on 14 December 2023, against the Portland Trail Blazers, where he scored 24 points on 87% field goal percentage. Fontecchio tied his career-high 24 points on 2 January 2024, in a 127–90 win against the Dallas Mavericks. ^[21]

Detroit Pistons (2024–present)

On 8 February 2024, Fontecchio was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kevin Knox II, a second round pick and the rights to Gabriele Procida. ^[22]

National team career

Fontecchio has played for the under age teams of Italy 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). ^{[23] [24]}

Fontecchio participated to the 2020 Summer Olympics basketball tournament with Italy, reaching the quarterfinals. He was the leading scorer in Italy's 92–82 win over Germany, scoring 20 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and stealing 3 balls. ^[25] He was also Italy's top performer in this game, with a 21 efficiency rate. ^[25] 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 80–71, and Fontecchio tied with Pajola for assists leader. Italy lost 75–84 to eventual silver medalist France 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". ^{[26] [27]}

In 2023, Fontecchio represented the national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup where Italy finished 8th overall. He averaged 18.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In recognition of his individual play, Fontecchio was named to the All-FIBA World Cup Second Team. ^[28]

Personal life

Fontecchio's mother Malì Pomilio played for Italy and won two European titles for AS Vicenza in basketball, and Fontecchio considers her as an influence in his career choice. ^[29] 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 from his native Pescara at the age of 14, living in shared accommodation with other Virtus youth players. ^[30]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

NBA

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022–23	Utah	52	6	14.7	.369	.330	.795	1.7	.8	.3	.2	6.3
2023–24	Utah	50	34	23.2	.450	.391	.800	3.5	1.5	.6	.4	8.9
	Detroit	16	9	30.3	.479	.426	.846	4.4	1.8	.9	.3	15.4
Career		118	49	20.4	.427	.375	.809	2.8	1.2	.5	.3	8.6

Euroleague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2016–17	Olimpia	10	2	11.7	.433	.412	.000	1.5	.8	.5	.1	3.3	1.9
2017–18		2	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2018–19		5	0	.8	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	–1.2
2020–21	Alba	29	24	23.4	.476	.388	.886	3.4	1.6	.9	.2	10.6	10.1
2021–22	Baskonia	17	11	26.4	.475	.426	.793	4.4	2.2	1.2	.1	11.9	13.2
Career		63	37	19.8	.470	.400	.844	3.0	1.4	.8	.2	8.6	8.4

Lega Basket Serie A

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2012–13	Virtus Bologna	Serie A	12	12.8	.324	.222	.800	1.4	.2	.4	.2	2.7
2013–14		Serie A	25	15.4	.426	.345	.750	1.1	.2	.4	.2	2.7
2014–15		Serie A	30	24.5	.384	.292	.659	2.3	1.5	.9	.2	7.4
2015–16		Serie A	30	27.5	.397	.328	.838	3.5	1.9	1.0	.1	9.2
2016–17	Olimpia Milano	Serie A	28	12.1	.495	.422	.714	1.6	.8	.4	.1	4.6
2017–18		Serie A	4	7.5	.286	.200	—	.3	.0	.3	.1	1.3
	Vanoli Cremona	Serie A	23	23.6	.422	.385	.806	3.1	.8	.9	.4	10.1
2018–19	Olimpia Milano	Serie A	34	12	.443	.375	.857	1.1	.3	.3	.2	4.0

Sources: Serie A ^[31]

References

1. "Fontecchio Simone". EuroLeague . Retrieved 29 April 2015.
2. "Simone Fontecchio". Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna (in Italian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
3. "Legabasket Serie A - 13° Gionarta Andata (Banco di Sardegna Sassari - SAIE3 Bologna)" [Legabasket Serie A - 13th round]. Lega Basket (in Italian). Retrieved 29 April 2015.
4. "Fontecchio firma per 5 anni, il suo futuro è bianconero" [Fontecchio signs for 5 years, his future is black and white]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 13 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
5. Aquino, Luca (17 December 2014). "Fontecchio all'All Star Game" [Fontecchio at the All Star Game]. Corriere di Bologna (in Italian). RCS MediaGroup . Retrieved 17 June 2015.
6. Aquino, Luca (8 May 2015). "Virtus, Fontecchio nominato miglior giovane dell'anno" [Virtus, Fontecchio named best young player of the year]. Corriere di Bologna (in Italian). RCS MediaGroup . Retrieved 17 June 2015.
7. Aquino, Luca (25 April 2015). "Virtus, Fontecchio si dichiara al draft Nba" [Virtus, Fontecchio declares himself for the NBA draft]. Corriere di Bologna (in Italian). RCS MediaGroup . Retrieved 17 June 2015.
8. Snow, Taylor C. (10 June 2015). "Draft Workout: Pat Connaughton puts baseball on hold to pursue NBA career". NBA . Waltham (Massachusetts): Boston Celtics . Retrieved 17 June 2015.
9. "Fontecchio, niente draft Gallinari allenato da Malone" [Fontecchio, no draft. Gallinari trained by Malone]. Corriere dello Sport – Stadio (in Italian). New York. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
10. "2018-19 Euroleague Stats".
11. "2018-2019 LBA stats" (in Italian).
12. "La Virtus Bologna abbandona la pista Simone Fontecchio" (in Italian). Vu Nere Bologna. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
13. Carchia, Emiliano (18 July 2019). "Reggio Emilia signs Simone Fontecchio". Sportando. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
14. Maggi, Alessandro (7 July 2020). "Alba Berlin officially signs Simone Fontecchio". Sportando. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
15. "Simone Fontecchio: The chase of fulfilling the NBA dream". BasketNews. 28 January 2022.
16. Maggi, Alessandro (9 July 2021). "Simone Fontecchio new baskonista for the next three seasons". Sportando. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
17. "Report: Jazz sign international free agent forward Simone Fontecchio". NBA.com. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
18. "Chi è Simone Fontecchio, terzo italiano in NBA". Il Post (in Italian). 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
19. "Simone Fontecchio Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
20. Guinhawa, Angelo (7 December 2022). "VIDEO: Jordan Poole, Warriors pull brutal 4-point choke job in final seconds vs. Jazz". ClutchPoints.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
21. "Simone Fontecchio 2023-24 Stats per Game". ESPN.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
22. "DETROIT PISTONS ACQUIRE SIMONE FONTECCHIO FROM UTAH". NBA.com. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
23. "2014 U20 European Championship – Simone Fontecchio.", FIBA Europe . Retrieved on 29 April 2015.
24. "2014 U20 European Championship – Simone Fontecchio.", FIBA . Retrieved on 29 April 2015.
25. "Germany vs. Italy". FIBA. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
26. Urbina, Frank. "Five players from the Olympics who should be on NBA radars". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
27. "Mercato NBA: cinque giocatori finiti sotto attenzione dopo le partite della Olimpiadi". Sky Sport. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
28. "World Cup 2023 All-Second Team, Best Coach and Best Defensive Player Awards revealed". FIBA. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
29. Kontos, Dimitris (13 July 2014). "Italy's Fontecchio in perpetual motion". FIBA Europe . Retrieved 27 March 2015.
30. "Basketball, Fontecchio from the Virtus school to the A: "The Under 19 title: the most beautiful thing".", La Gazzetta dello Sport , Milan, 23 October 2014. Retrieved on 29 April 2015.(in Italian)
31. "Fontecchio Simone - Statistiche individuali" [Simone Fontecchio - Total statistics]. Lega Basket (in Italian). Retrieved 29 April 2015.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com    and  Basketball-Reference.com  
• EuroLeague.net profile
• Virtus Bologna profile (in Italian)
• Eurobasket profile
• DraftExpress profile
• Players Group agency profile