Following his retirement from basketball, Gigi Datome was honored by the team with whom he became a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion, Fenerbahce, in its season-opener against his last team, Milan.
Datome took a final bow for Fenerbahce fans
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Round 1 brought a special game between Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, a true thriller in which the hosts prevailed 85-82 in overtime. It was extra special for Luigi Datome, who retired from basketball barely a month ago, as he watched the last two teams he played for over a total of eight seasons face each other.
Datome played for Fenerbahce from 2015 to 2020 and was a fan favorite in Istanbul due to his high-level performances on the court and his interest for Turkish culture and lifestyle. As a player, Datome helped Fenerbahce reach four consecutive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Fours and make it to all three championship games between 2016 and 2018. Datome lifted the trophy with Fenerbahce in 2017 and was the star of the post-game celebration, when Pero Antic cut a lock of his hair on top of the podium.
Datome embraced Turkish culture, learned the language and did his best to fit it, which was highly appreciated by fans, Fenerbahce or not. In fact, his pre-game speech at Ulker Sports and Event Hall on Friday night was in Turkish, thanking everybody for the warm reception. Datome went on to play for Milan for the last three season, reaching another Final Four in 2022. Before that, he played for Montepaschi Siena, Scafati Basket and Virtus Roma of Italy, Detroit and Boston of the NBA.
"Greetings everyone! It's always great to see you. You know me very well! This arena is a part of my heart. I love this hall, I love these colors, I loved my teammates, my teachers, the office, the management, everyone and everything in Istanbul. I love you very, very much too," Datome said before the game. "We were not just players here, we were the best team in the world together. Your love for me is more important than trophies. I will be a Fenerbahce fan forever!"
The day before the game, Datome's career was celebrating with a special video Fenerbahce made, using one of Datome's favorite songs, Society by Eddie Vedder. Some of the people wearing Datome's jersey in the video were part of Fenerbahce's staff. The club made sure to honor one of its most legendary players' career and did it in style! Fenerbahce rounded out a special night with a hard-fought victory. Scottie Wilbekin paced the winners with 19 points. Marko Guduric, Tyler Dorsey and Georgios Papagiannis each added 15 for Fenerbahce in a winning effort!