Key piece of 2014 Spurs title team officially retires from basketball
2024 San Antonio Spurs forward Marco Belinelli officially announced his retirement from basketball. At the end of his playing days in the NBA, Belinell signed a three-year deal with Virtus Bologna, an Italian club team. Belinelli also played for the Italian national basketball team throughout his career. However, he did not participate in the 2024 Olympics.
Belinelli's retirement was announced by the FIBA EuroBasket's X, formerly Twitter.
Belinelli last played for the Spurs in 2020 when the season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic before the season resumed for 22 out of the 30 teams that were invited to the bubble near Walt Disney World in Orlando. After the Spurs were eliminated, Belinelli agreed to a three-year deal to play in Italy.
However, the 2014 Spurs champion will be remembered for his role that led to an NBA championship. He averaged 11.4 points on 48.5% shooting, including 43% from deep, where he was a consistent threat from behind the arc. Belinelli averaged 9.7 points on 42.4% shooting, including 37.6% from three throughout his 13-year NBA career.
Belinelli, the 18th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, spent 13 seasons in the NBA. He has played for the Golden State Warriors, the Toronto Raptors, the New Orleans Hornets, the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76ers, along with the Spurs.
2025-26 season predictions for the Spurs after schedule release
While this year's San Antonio Spurs are far from championship contenders, such as the team champion Marco Belinelli played for, they've built an intriguing young core that's built for the future. Led by All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and the second overall pick in this year's NBA draft, guard Dylan Harper, the Spurs could make a significant stride in 2025-26.
Surrounding their young core with proven veterans such as point guard De'Aaron Fox, and a pair of veteran centers in Kelly Olynyk and Luke Kornet, the Spurs will look to build off of last season. The Spurs also inked Fox to a long-term extension for four years, worth $229 million. Pairing Fox with Wembanyama appears to be a focal point of the Spurs' future.
After Wembanyama suffered blood clots, which ended his 2024-25 season, he didn't get many reps with Fox on the floor. Still, that didn't prevent the Spurs front office from making its long-term investment in Fox, which suggested the kind of direction the Spurs want to head in despite rostering two promising guards in Castle and Harper, who both play the same position as De'Aaron.
Related: San Antonio Spurs 2025-26 season predictions after NBA schedule release
Related: Why Spurs' toughest offseason battle remains off the court
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