Andrea Bargnani life and biography

Andrea Bargnani, nicknamed "Il Mago" (translated to "The Magician") is an Italian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.

He was selected first overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. He is a power forward/center standing at 213 cm (7 ft 0 in) and weighing 113.4 kg (250 lbs). Prior to his NBA career, Bargnani played for Benetton Treviso in the Italian Lega A and the elite Euroleague. In his first two seasons with the Raptors, he helped the team reach the NBA Playoffs, including the Atlantic Division title in 2006–07.

Career history:

Stella Azzura Roma (2002–2003)
Benetton Treviso (2003–2006)
Toronto Raptors (2006–Present)

CAREER:
2009-10 :
Set career highs in scoring (17.2), rebounds (6.2) and blocks (1.4), while appearing in a career-best 80 games (all starts) ... Led the team in three-pointers made (121), three-pointers attempted (325) and blocks (111) ... Ranked 17th in the NBA in blocks per game …

2008-09 :
Averaged career highs of 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.24 blocked shots and 31.4 minutes in 78 games ... Averaged 17.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 59 starts ... Paced the team in scoring on 15 occasions ... Topped 20 or more points a career-best 23 times ... Scored in double-figures in 41 of his final 45 starts, with 20 or more points in 24 of those contests ... Posted six double-doubles ... Missed three of the final five games with a sore left heel...

2008-07 :
Averaged 10.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 78 games, with 53 starts ... Totaled 20-plus points on 11 occasions ... Made three or more three-pointers in 13 games ... Made 61-for-67 (.910) free throws over the season's final 32 games ... Started for the Sophomore team in the T-Mobile Rookie-Sophomore game during All-Star Weekend, finishing with eight points in 17:14 minutes.

2006-07 :
Averaged 11.6 points, fourth on the team, 3.9 rebounds and 25.1 minutes in 65 games, including two starts ... Named to the All-Rookie First Team and finished second in Rookie of the Year Voting ... Selected as T-Mobile Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for January and February ... Ranked third among rookies in scoring and fifth with 0.82 blocked shots ... Had four games of 20 + points and two of 10 + rebounds ... Had a string of nine consecutive games with a made three pointer from Feb. 28 - Mar. 16., shooting .400 (24.-for-60) from that range during that stretch ... Underwent a successful emergency appendectomy Mar. 21 and missed 14 games ... Returned to action Apr. 18 vs. Philadelphia to score a bench-high 17 points ... Registered a team-high 20 points on eight-of-12 shooting from the floor Feb. 28 at Houston ... Grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds Feb. 24 at Charlotte ... Started for the Rookie team in the T-Mobile Rookie-Sophomore Challengeon Feb. 17 at the 2007 All-Game in Las Vegas, finishing with 12 points in 23 minutes.

Career highlights and awards:

Euroleague Rising Star (2006)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2007)

PERSONAL:

First European to be selected with the number one pick in an NBA Draft
Joined Andrew Bogut (Australia, Milwaukee, 2006) and Yao Ming (China, Houston, 2002) as the only international players to be first overall draft picks
Selected uniform number 11 but gave it to T.J. Ford when Ford was acquired from Milwaukee on June 30
Raptors Vice President and Assistant General Manager Maurizio Gherardini was general manager of Benetton Treviso during Bargnani’s three seasons with the club
Was a teammate at Benetton of current Raptors Jorge Garbajosa (2003-04) and Uros Slokar (2003-06)
Played for the Italian Under 18 and Under 16 National Teams.

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