Nicolo Melli

At 33 years old, Nicolo Melli has this physical status:

Nicol Melli (born January 26, 1991) is an Italian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He also represents the senior national team of Italy.

He mainly plays in center, but he has also played at center.

In 2017, Melli was selected for the All-EuroLeague Second Team selection.

Personal life

Julie Vollertsen, the son of a silver medalist with the United States at the 1984 Olympic Games, and corporate advocate (formerly amateur basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana and television journalist) Leopoldo Melli. Vollertsen came from the United States to Reggio Emilia to compete professionally. Enrico, Melli's 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, he was 16 years old when he visited the latter, and he doesn't seem particularly American. He describes his English as strong but not fluent.

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Youth career

The native of Reggio Emilia started his career with Pallacanestro Reggiana, a home town firm. Melli was called up to train with the senior staff in October 2004, when the injury list was still unsolved. He sat on the bench for 24 October league games (an age record), but he did not play and returned to the youth teams afterwards.

He appeared in the Italian leg of the Jordan Classic Camp international tour in October 2006, regrouping a short list of the top young prospects under the age of 16, with the MVP receiving a trip to the camp's American version. In April 2007, Melli was selected as co-MVP, meeting Michael Jordan and heading to the United States. At the same time, he discussed recruiting interest from American college UCLA.

Professional career

In August 2007, he began training with the first team and signed a five-year professional contract with Pallacanestro Reggiana. The 16-year-old made his debut in the Italian national second division LegaDue in October of this year. He made the promotion semi-finals against Aurora Basket Jesi in May 2008 and added 16 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort. He finished the season with a score of 10.6 minutes and 2.9 rebounds.

The 17-year-old played in the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso in the off-season, but did not make a good impression on observers (even though playing against older players, often by five years). He has returned to the United States to compete for international teams of promising youngsters in the Adidas Nations. Despite being lauded by an observer for his work ethic, it was also noted that his game (and lack of athleticism) was unsuitable for the American game.

Melli started the year off with 12 points and 18 rebounds followed by 24 points in two games, but Melli sustained a serious knee injury on December 21, 2008. Scans revealed an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee, needing surgery and at least five months of rehabilitation, but he would continue his work.

He returned to action in 2009-2010 as a starter; he had averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 28 minutes, but he missed the promotion playoffs due to a shoulder injury.

Melli joined Armani Jeans Milano, of the elite domestic Serie A and European EuroLeague, in July 2010, signing a four-year contract, on the radar of top teams for some time. Melli was loaned to Scavolini-Siviglia Pesaro in February 2011, after struggling to earn minutes. He returned to Milan a month later to play in the Italian All Star Game, in which he scored 12 points for Italy. Melli's game for Pesaro ended with 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, down from 9 minutes for Milan).

Melli earned marginally more playing time in a EuroLeague Group G loss to UNICS Kazan on Saturday, but he ended the regular season with 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9 minutes per game (EuroLeague). He had more impact in the Serie A playoffs, with seven points in 19 minutes, 2 steals, and 1 block) and then in game 4 of the finals against future champions Montepaschi Siena, scoring in 11 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes.

Melli's averages increased his points and rebounds in 2012–13 (Serie A), 4.6 points, and 3 rebounds (EuroLeague), and his minutes to respectively 17 and 15 in a season virtually devoid of highlights both personally and for Milan (eliminated in the domestic quarterfinals and the EuroLeague regular season). An exception was his third appearance in the December Italian league All-Star Game, in which he led with Milan teammate Alessandro Gentile (18 points) for a game-best 10 rebounds. He played out with a number of NBA clubs over the summer, with an observer observing that he was too thin for the team, he did not get undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft.

Melli's 2013-14 season was his breakthrough, with his good results getting more regular as he consolidated his position in Milan's starting five. In Milan's second EuroLeague game of the season against 'algiris, where Melli scored a career-high 20 points, adding 9 rebounds and 2 steals in 25 minutes for a PIR of 28. During Milan's decisive 74–73 win over Brose Bamberg in the penultimate group stage game, he defended Wright though he missed the Brose's last shot, which enabled Milan to advance to the Top 16. Melli had respectable averages of 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.9 steals in around 21 minutes in Milan's EuroLeague quarterfinals, though he had less influence as a result.

He regularly scored in double figures, including a career-high 24 points against Roma, but against more averaging games, he finished with 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in a career-high 21 minutes. Melli made a pivotal contribution to the Serie A playoffs, starting with 18 points in 22 minutes in the first game against Pistoia, discarding the figures. Melli exploded in the final two games after starting the series against defending champions Montepaschi Siena with a few off-games. Milan led the game by two points in a do-or-die game 6, with Milan trailing. Milan won the game and earned the game by scoring two successive three-pointers to regain the lead before adding a steal and a number of crucial rebounds. Milan defeated the Italian champions for the first time in 18 years thanks to 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

In July 2014, his Milan deal was extended for another year. Melli's season was more difficult for both players (5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in Serie A) as Milan was kicked out of the Italian playoff semi-finals and stalled in the EuroLeague, 5.5 and 4.3) as Milan was defeated in the Italian playoff semi-finals and stalled in the EuroLeague, 5.5 and 4.3.

Melli began working in Germany in July 2015 and spent two years with Brose Bamberg in Germany. Brose's continued efforts for his career as well as his family's increasing role in the country, as inspiration for the change abroad, while adding that the presence of compatriots Andrea Trinchieri and Daniele Baiesi as head coach and GM respectively would facilitate his migration. Melli was voted MVP of the Month of November of the 2015-16 Euroleague.

Melli was named the EuroLeague Round 11 MVP after scoring 27 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a 70–85 away win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on December 8, 2016. He was selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team, the season's second team.

Melli signed a three-year deal with Turkish club Fenerbahçe on July 8, 2017. Fenerbahçe made it to the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four for the fourth straight Final Four appearance in the 2017–18 EuroLeague seasons. In the finals game, they lost by a score of 80–85. Melli was the finals top scorer in a EuroLeague Finals game played by a player since 1985, scoring 28 points. He had a season-best showing in the EuroLeague Finals, scoring 28 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Over 36 EuroLeague games were played in total, with him scoring 8.9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Melli joined the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association on July 25, 2019. (NBA). Melli played his debut in NBA on October 22, 2019, coming off the bench in a 122-130 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors with fourteen points, five rebounds, and two assists. Melli was named on Deandre Ayton for the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge on February 12, 2020.

In comparison to a second-round draft-pick, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks alongside JJ Redick in exchange for James Johnson and Wes Iwundu. He made his debut three days later in a 127-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he scored six points in six minutes.

Melli made his European return on July 9th by signing with his former club Olimpia Milano.

National team career

Melli was voted to the tournament's best five by the Italian Under-16 Championship in 2007, averaging 13.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. With the U-18's at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, he averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game (the former being a team record).

Melli had 10.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1 block per game in nearly 25 minutes played per game in 2011, including 23 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Montenegro to help Italy reach the final. In the semi-finals, he had an off-game against Spain, grabbing 7 rebounds and scoring 9 points, but he had trouble shooting 2 for 8 on the ground and committing four fouls, forcing Italy to make do with a silver medal.

Melli made his full debut (discounting the All-Star Game) for the senior Italian team in August 2011, but he wasn't called up until 2013.

After being called up to the Italy squad for EuroBasket 2013, the power forward was forced to play in an unfamiliar center position due to a shortage of big men in Italy's squad. Despite Italy's quarterfinals, he was in danger against bigger and stronger opponents, claiming the tournament with a respectable 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Melli also appeared at the EuroBasket 2015 in Barcelona.

In a win over Nigeria in the preliminary round of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Melli scored a team high 15 points.

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