The Boston Celtics acquired veteran sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari in free agency over the summer as a legitimate need to bolster the production from the bench.

Signing with Boston was a dream come true for Gallinari, who grew up a Celtics fan in large part to his father, Vittorio, who’s a former pro baller himself and now is a sports agent.

On the latest episode of View From The Rafters Podcast with Marc D’Amico and Sean Grande, Gallinari explains where his Celtics roots come from and his mindset this season as he’s recovering from ACL surgery.

“Celtics and Larry Bird were my dad’s favorite team and favorite player. And so since I probably started to understand Italian a little bit and learning the language a little bit. So I don’t know, I was maybe six, seven, eight years-old.”

Gallinari jokingly says that “Celtics” may have been his second or third words he learned as a child. 

The 14-year NBA veteran is working hard to make his dream come true of playing for his favorite childhood team in the Celtics. Not to mention he is looking extremely well in his daily workout video updates he posts on social media. 

Gallinari also explains why he’s favoring being around the team so much through his recovery vs doing his own recovery treatment like most athletes today.

Danilo Gallinari explains why he travels with the team and using the #Celtics doctors vs his own:

“I trust the staff. I think the staff is very good. I like to work with them a lot. I trust the doctors. That’s trust first. Mentally, being with the team helps a lot.”

— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) February 14, 2023

Gallinari has a legitimate opportunity of returning to the court this season to make his debut with the Celtics, as it’s his personal goal to do so.

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