Fenerbahçe İstanbul
Which team did Nicolò Melli play for from 2017 to 2018?
Nicolò Melli Nicolò Melli ( born 26 January 1991 ) is an Italian-American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He also represents the senior Italian national team . He mainly plays at the power forward position , but he has also played at center . Melli earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2017 . Youth career . The Reggio Emilia native started his career with home town side Pallacanestro Reggiana . After an accumulation of injuries Melli was called up to train with the senior team in October 2004 , at only 13 . He sat on the bench during a 24 October league game ( an age record ) though he did not play and returned to the youth teams afterwards . In October 2006 he participated in the Italian leg of the Jordan Classic Camp international tour , regrouping a selection of the thirty most promising under-16 players , with the MVP earning a trip to the American edition of the camp . Melli was selected as co-MVP , meeting Michael Jordan and going to the U.S . in April 2007 . He talked of recruiting interest from American college UCLA during the same period . Professional career . Pallacanestro Reggiana . In August 2007 , he signed a five-year professional contract with Pallacanestro Reggiana and started training with the first team . The same year , in October , the 16-year-old debuted in the Italian national second division LegaDue . In May 2008 , during the promotion semi-finals against Aurora Basket Jesi , he replaced injured starter Benjamin Ortner and contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort . He finished the season playing an average of 10.6 minutes with 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds . During the off-season , the 17-year-old participated in the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso but did not make an impression on observers ( albeit playing against older players , sometimes by five years ) . He also returned to the U.S. , attending the Adidas Nations that pitted international teams of promising youngsters . Though he was praised by an observer for his work ethic , it was also noted that his game ( and lack of athleticism ) was unsuited to the American game . Melli started the next season in great form , with 12 points and 18 rebounds followed by 24 points in two games , however , on 21 December 2008 , Melli suffered a serious knee injury . Scans revealed an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his left knee , requiring surgery and at least five months of rehabilitation though he would be able to continue his career . He returned to action in 2009–10 as a starter ; he averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28 minutes , though he missed the promotion playoffs because of a shoulder injury . Olimpia Milano . 2010–11 season . On the radar of strong sides for some time , Melli joined Armani Jeans Milano , of the elite domestic Serie A and European EuroLeague in July 2010 , signing a four-year deal . After struggling to earn minutes , Melli was loaned to fellow Serie A side Scavolini-Siviglia Pesaro in February 2011 . A month later he returned to Milan , to take part in the Italian All Star Game where he contributed 12 points for Italy . Melli finished the 2010–11 season with 3.8 points , 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 16 minutes per game for Pesaro ( compared with 9 minutes for Milan previously ) . 2011–12 season . The next season saw Melli accrue slightly more playing time but despite some highlights , such as a team-high 17 points in a EuroLeague Group G defeat against UNICS Kazan , he finished the regular season with 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11 minutes per game ( Serie A ) and 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9 minutes per game ( EuroLeague ) . He had more impact in the Serie A playoffs , including decisive performances in the semi-final game 3 against former side Pesaro ( 5 points in 19 minutes and a good defensive performance , with 7 rebounds , 2 steals and 1 block ) and then in game 4 of the finals against future champions Montepaschi Siena where he was part of a second-half fightback to win the game , finishing with 11 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes . 2012–13 season . In 2012–13 , Melli increased his averages to 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds ( Serie A ) , 4.6 points and 3 rebounds ( EuroLeague ) , and his minutes to respectively 17 and 15 in a season nearly devoid of highlights both personally and for Milan ( eliminated in the domestic quarterfinals and the EuroLeague regular season ) . An exception was his third successive participation in the December Italian league All-Star Game , in which he top-scored along with Milan teammate Alessandro Gentile ( 18 points ) , adding a game-best 10 rebounds . During the summer , he worked out with a number of NBA sides , with an observer commenting that he seemed too light physically for the league , he would go undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft . 2013–14 season . 2013–14 proved to be Mellis breakthrough season , with his good performances becoming more regular as he cemented his place in Milans starting five . The first of those decisive contributions came in Milans second EuroLeague game of the season against Žalgiris , where Melli scored a career-high 20 points , adding 9 rebounds and 2 steals in 25 minutes to earn a PIR of 28 . During the decisive 74–73 victory against Brose Bamberg in the penultimate group stage game , he defended Wright as he missed the Broses last shot which allowed Milan to progress to the Top 16 . Though he lad less impact further on as Milan reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals , Melli finished with respectable averages of 5.3 points , 4.3 rebounds , 0.8 assists and 0.9 steals in around 21 minutes in the competition . Domestically , he regularly posted scored in double figures , including a career-high 24 points against Roma , put against more average games he finished with 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in a career-high 21 minutes . Discarding the statistics , Melli had crucial contributions during the Serie A playoffs , starting with 18 points in 22 minutes in the first game against Pistoia . After starting the finals series against defending champions Montepaschi Siena with some off-games Melli exploded in the final two games . In the do-or-die game 6 , with Milan trailing , he scored two successive three-pointers to regain the lead before adding a steal and a number of decisive rebounds as Milan won the game to earn a game 7 decider . In that game , he contributed 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as Milan won to become Italian champions for the first time in 18 years . 2014–15 season . In July 2014 , his contract with Milan was extended for another year . The season proved more difficult for both parties , Melli had an unremarkable season ( 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in the EuroLeague , 5.6 and 4.3 in Serie A ) as Milan were stopped in the Italian playoff semi-finals in their title defense and stalled in the EuroLeague Top 16 . Brose Bamberg . 2015–16 season . Melli moved abroad in July 2015 , signing with German side Brose Bamberg for two years . He cited Broses strong pursuit of his services and their offering him a more important role in the side as motivation for the move abroad , adding that the presence of compatriots Andrea Trinchieri and Daniele Baiesi as head coach and GM respectively would facilitate his adaptation . Melli was named the MVP of the Month of November of the 2015–16 Euroleague . 2016–17 season . Melli was named the EuroLeague Round 11 MVP , after scoring 27 points and grabbing 14 rebounds , in a 70–85 away victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv , on 8 December 2016 . He was named to the seasons All-EuroLeague Second Team . Fenerbahçe İstanbul . On 8 July 2017 , Melli signed a three-year contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe . In the 2017–18 EuroLeague season , Fenerbahçe made it to the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four , its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance . Eventually , they lost to Real Madrid , by a score of 80–85 in the finals game . In the finals game , Melli was the finals top scorer , as he scored 28 points , which was the most points scored in a EuroLeague Finals game by a player since 1985 . He had a season-best performance in the EuroLeague Finals , scoring 28 points and grabbing 6 rebounds . Over 36 EuroLeague games played in total , he averaged 8.9 points , 5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game . New Orleans Pelicans ( 2019–2021 ) . On 25 July 2019 , Melli signed with the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . On 22 October 2019 , Melli made his debut in NBA , coming off the bench in a 122–130 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors with fourteen points , five rebounds and two assists . On 12 February 2020 , Melli replaced Deandre Ayton for the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge . Dallas Mavericks ( 2021–present ) . He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on 26 March 2021 , alongside JJ Redick in exchange for James Johnson and Wes Iwundu . He made his debut three days later , in a 127–106 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder where he recorded six points in twelve minutes . National team career . Italian junior national team . Melli played with the Italian Under-16 side at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship , averaging 13.1 points , 9.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game ( all three team bests ) , as he was selected to the tournaments best five . With the U-18s at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship , he averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game ( the latter a team best ) . In the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship , Melli contributed 10.1 points , 6.8 rebounds and 1 block per game , in nearly 25 minutes played per game , including 23 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal against Montenegro , to help Italy reach the final . He had an off-game against Spain in the semi-final , grabbing 7 rebounds and scoring 9 points , but shooting 2 for 8 from the floor , and committing four fouls , as Italy had to make do with a silver medal . Italian senior national team . Melli made his full debut ( discounting the All-Star Game ) for the senior Italian team in August 2011 , though he was rarely called up until 2013 . After being called up to the Italy squad for EuroBasket 2013 , the power forward had to play in an unfamiliar center position , due to the lack of big men in Italys squad . Alternating at the position with Marco Cusin , he was pitted against bigger and stronger opponents , finishing the tournament with a respectable 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game , in around 16 minutes played per game – with highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Turkey – as Italy reached the tournaments quarterfinals . Melli also played at the EuroBasket 2015 . Personal life . Melli is the son of the former volleyball player Julie Vollertsen—a silver medalist with the United States at the 1984 Olympic Games—and corporate lawyer ( formerly amateur basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana and television journalist ) Leopoldo Melli . They met when Vollertsen moved from the U.S . to Reggio Emilia to play professionally . Enrico , Mellis younger brother who was born in 1995 , has also played basketball for Reggiana . Melli is a dual citizen of Italy and the United States . However , the first time he visited the latter was at 16 and he doesnt feel very American . He describes his English as good but not fluent . External links . - Nicolò Melli at eurobasket.com - Nicolò Melli at euroleague.net - Nicolò Melli at fiba.com - Nicolò Melli at legabasket.it