Casalpusterlengo (2004–2005) Gallinari started playing professionally in 2004 for Casalpusterlengo, a team in
Serie B1 (
third level in Italy).
Edimes Pavia (2005–2006) In 2005, Gallinari was acquired by
Armani Jeans Milano, which then sent him to
Edimes Pavia, a team competing in the
Italian league second division championship during the 2005–2006 season, so that he could earn more experience with extended playing minutes. Even though he played only half of the season due to an injury, in 2006, he was nominated as the best Italian player of the Italian league second division championship, averaging 14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 0.8 assists in 17 games.
Olimpia Milano (2006–2008) In 2006, Gallinari was recalled by
Olimpia Milano to play in the 2006–07
Serie A season and also in the
ULEB Cup. In his first season in Serie A, Gallinari was named as the league's best player under the age of 22, averaging 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 assists per game in 34 regular season games and 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 0.9 assists per game in 8 playoff games. During the season, he also won the 2007 Italian All-Star Game 3-point shootout contest. He spent his last season with Milano in the top Italian league, finishing first in the league's overall efficiency ratings. During the 2007–2008 season, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.3 assists per game in 33 regular season games and 18.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists per game in 8 playoff games. In the 2007–08 season, he played for the first time in the
EuroLeague, where he averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 11 games. He posted a season-high 27 points against
Maccabi Tel Aviv in his final game, and at the end of the season was named the EuroLeague's
Rising Star.
New York Knicks (2008–2011) Gallinari's contract with
Olimpia Milano had an
escape clause for playing professionally in the United States, effectively eliminating major encumbrances that would have prevented him from joining the
National Basketball Association (NBA). On 23 April 2008, he decided to declare himself eligible for the
2008 NBA draft. Gallinari signed an endorsement deal with
Reebok before being drafted into the NBA. He has his own sneaker, made by Reebok, called "The Rooster." Gallinari was drafted sixth overall in the 2008 draft by the
New York Knicks. He then signed a two-year contract with the team. Just one game into the 2008–09 season, it was announced that Gallinari would most likely miss most of the remainder of the season due to back problems. Despite his back problems, he came back into play on 17 January, during a game the Knicks lost to
Philadelphia. On 4 March, Gallinari scored a season-high 17 points against the
Atlanta Hawks, shooting 4–5 on three-point field goal attempts. On 23 October 2009, the Knicks picked up Gallinari's contract option. With the Knicks freeing up roster space for Gallinari with the trade of
Quentin Richardson, and with
Al Harrington being relegated to the bench, head coach
Mike D'Antoni named Gallinari a starter two games into the 2009 NBA season. On 31 October 2009, the third game of the 2009 season, Gallinari scored a career-high 30 points and made eight three-pointers in an
overtime loss to the
Philadelphia 76ers, one short of tying a Knicks franchise record held by
Latrell Sprewell and
John Starks. Gallinari set a new career high on 6 April 2010, with 31 points in a 104–101 win over the Boston Celtics.
Denver Nuggets (2011–2017) On 22 February 2011, Gallinari was traded to the
Denver Nuggets in a three-team trade, which also involved the
Minnesota Timberwolves, that brought
Carmelo Anthony and
Chauncey Billups to New York. In just his second game with the Nuggets, he almost matched his career high with a 30-point effort in an overtime loss against the
Portland Trail Blazers. During the
2011 NBA lockout he returned to
Italy to play for
Emporio Armani Milan. On 25 January 2012, Gallinari signed a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets. On 5 April 2013, it was announced that Gallinari would miss the remainder of the 2012–13 season because of an ACL injury. The same injury forced him out of the entire 2013–14 season as well. On 29 October 2014, Gallinari made his return for the Nuggets, scoring seven points on 1-of-8 shooting in a season opening win over the Detroit Pistons. On 22 March 2015, Gallinari scored a career-high 40 points on 12-of-21 shooting in a 119–100 win over the Orlando Magic. Gallinari later eclipsed his career high with 47 points in a double overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on 10 April. On 3 August 2015, Gallinari signed a two-year contract extension with the Nuggets. On 17 November 2015, he scored a season-high 32 points in a 115–98 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On 5 February 2016, he set a new season high with 33 points in a 115–110 win over the Chicago Bulls. Gallinari missed the final 22 games of the season due to an ankle injury. On 9 April 2017, Gallinari scored 22 of his season-high 34 points in the third quarter of the Nuggets' 106–105 loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder.
Los Angeles Clippers (2017–2019) On 6 July 2017, the
Los Angeles Clippers acquired Gallinari from the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-team trade that sent
Jamal Crawford,
Diamond Stone and the Clippers' 2018 protected first round draft pick (via Houston) to the
Atlanta Hawks and a 2019 second round draft pick from Atlanta (via Washington) to Denver. In his debut for the Clippers in their season opener on October 19, Gallinari scored 11 points in a 108–92 win over the
Los Angeles Lakers. On 6 December, Gallinari returned to action against the
Minnesota Timberwolves after missing a month due to a glute injury. On 20 December, he was ruled out until at least January with a partial tear of his left glute muscle. On 5 February 2018, he scored 28 points in a 104–101 win over the
Dallas Mavericks. On 27 February, he was once again ruled out due to a non-displaced fracture to his right hand. In March 2019, Gallinari scored 20 or more points in nine straight games, marking the best scoring streak of his career.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2019–2020) On 10 July 2019, the Clippers traded Gallinari,
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks to the
Oklahoma City Thunder for
NBA All-Star player
Paul George. On 4 August 2019, it was reported that Gallinari underwent an appendectomy. On February 24, 2021, Gallinari scored 38 points and hit a career-high and Hawks record 10 threes against the Celtics. During Game 7 of the
2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the
Philadelphia 76ers, Gallinari came up in the final minute with a key steal from
Joel Embiid and a dunk, extending Atlanta's lead to six, as the Hawks reached their first Eastern Conference Final since 2015 and only their second since moving to Atlanta in 1968.
Boston Celtics (2022–2023) On 30 June 2022, Gallinari was traded, alongside multiple future first-round picks, to the
San Antonio Spurs in exchange for
Dejounte Murray and
Jock Landale. On 8 July, Gallinari was waived by the Spurs. On 12 July 2022, Gallinari signed a two-year, $13.3M deal with the
Boston Celtics. On September 2, Gallinari suffered a torn
ACL in his left knee, and missed the entire season. As a result of his injury, and a trade preceding the 2023–24 season, Gallinari was not able to see the court during his time with the
Boston Celtics.
Washington Wizards (2023–2024) On 23 June 2023, the Celtics traded Gallinari to the
Washington Wizards as part of a three–team deal involving the
Memphis Grizzlies. The Wizards received Gallinari,
Mike Muscala, and the No.35 overall pick in the
2023 NBA draft from Boston as well as
Tyus Jones from Memphis in exchange for
Kristaps Porziņģis who landed in Boston. Additionally, Boston received the No. 25 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and a 2024 first round pick (via
GSW) from Memphis, while the Grizzlies acquired
Marcus Smart.
Detroit Pistons (2024) On 14 January 2024, Gallinari was traded to the
Detroit Pistons, along with
Mike Muscala, in exchange for
Marvin Bagley III,
Isaiah Livers and future draft considerations. On 9 February, he was waived by the Pistons.
Milwaukee Bucks (2024) On February 21, 2024, Gallinari signed with the
Milwaukee Bucks.
Vaqueros de Bayamón (2025) On 22 January 2025, Gallinari signed with the
Vaqueros de Bayamón of the
Baloncesto Superior Nacional. On 12 August, Gallinari led the Vaqueros to their 17th title, granting him the honors of Finals MVP. On 2 December 2025, Gallinari announced his retirement from professional basketball. ==Career statistics==