Here’s a little Italian lesson for you, courtesy of New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari: the word for rooster in Italian is gallo. The basketball player is extremely familiar with the term because it’s been his nickname since he first began playing ball as a toddler in his hometown of Graffignana. It was his father’s nickname too, when the elder Gallinari was a star basketball player for the Italian national team.

Gallinari, who moved to New York after the 2008 NBA draft—he was the sixth pick overall—continues his Italian lesson: “In Italy, a rooster is a very powerful animal. It is a sign of respect to be referred to as a rooster, which I don’t think is the [case] here.” But regardless of his nickname or the animal to which it corresponds, to see Gallinari on the basketball court is to see a man who knows how to rule the roost. He is equal parts agile and aggressive, known for both his tough defense and his quick hands.

Gallinari went pro in 2004, at the ripe old age of 15, playing for the Italian team Casalpusterlengo. Four years later he moved to New York to officially become a Knick. “This was my first choice,” he says, adding that of the four organizations that approached his management team when he was a free agent, New York was the one he told them to push for. Not that he doesn’t miss home—he says Graffignana is still his favorite place on earth—but he has methods for combating homesickness. “I’m lucky to have my mom come to New York a couple of times a year. She makes sure I have plenty of Italian food—she flies with it in her luggage and stocks up my apartment before she goes back.” derek blasberg

Danilo Gallinari in New york city, august 2010
Photography Mark Abrahams
Styling Yuki James
T-shirt Armani Exchange F/W 2010
Fragrance Giorgio Armani Armani Code

KEYWORDS: Danilo Gallinari