“I started to love basketball very early, at 4 or 5 years of age. I was lucky because my grandfather was an official with the Bergamo team, so he brought me to games on Sundays, and then I asked him to start practicing too. Everything started with my grandfather, he was the reason why I started to play and to love the game.” Everything started with a conversation with his grandpa. Then, Diego Flaccadori became a promising prospect in Italy. Being part of a team in his native Bergamo he faced Olimpia Milan youth teams so many times you lose count. And he was good. So good, that he played for the National Team in 2012 at the European Under 16 championships. Two years later, he was great at the Under 18 level when he averaged 16.1 points per game on top of getting 5.3 rebounds. He was a guard, one of the best in Europe in his age group.

Olimpia had given him a chance by then. The EuroLeague Final Four were in Milan in May of 2014. The Under 18 team had to take part in the highly competitive junior tournament and offered him a spot on the team. He was on a loan, but you never know. “It was a beautiful experience – he says -. That tournament was organized during the Milan edition of the Final Four in 2014. So, they gave us the chance to watch the games. At that age, to wear Olimpia jersey was great and on top of it I attended the Final Four. It was great.”

He did well, seriously, so well that maybe he was sitting by the phone waiting for a call that never happened. “No, it was an opportunity, so I came well prepared and yes, I did everything well. But I understood which kind of development I was supposed to follow. In truth, I enjoyed the experience to the best of my capabilities.” He doesn’t have no regrets. He played the part; he helped the team win a couple of games and moved on. He is a smart guy; he was 18 and needed to face experienced competitions with playing time to use. He was signed by Trento, an emerging team. “I was a kid and became an adult. Trento meant a lot to me, I spent there my formative years. It was crucial. And tough in the beginning. I had to absorb the rhythm of being a professional player. And it took time. Once, I got into my rhythm everything was a lot of fun. It is to this day.”

He increased responsibilities, playing time and games won. Trento made it to two Italian league championship series, the second one against Milan. 2018. “I was a guard back then, purely a guard, competing for playing time with Shavon Shields. We were fortunate to have him. At that time, there was a lot of competitiveness between us during practices. Back in the day I was playing his same position. I’m sure it helped both of us to improve. Shavon was a guy very determined to work and improve daily. The pinnacle was the championship series he had against Milan.” That championship series was bitter for Diego. He had a health scare and couldn’t play in it. Eventually, he moved to Bayern Munich. Too soon, maybe? “No, I think it was the right time to go to Munich. It was the kind of experience I really wanted to live. It could have gone better, but it could have gone worse. However, I came off those two years very aware of what I could become, and I used that awareness when I went back to Trento. I knew what I could be by then.” Ironically, again he faced Olimpia in the EuroLeague 2021 playoffs, the epic series that finished in five games with a huge Kyle Hines block that propelled Milan to the Final Four.

“When I left Trento, I was a shooting guard, nothing else. During my time in Munich, my second year, with the Coach we decided to make the transition and make me play the point. I think now I’m a lot more of a point guard.” For his development that was huge. He moved from being an undersized shooting guard to be a tall point man. However, after two seasons, he was back to square one, in Trento.

Not really. When he left, he was a promising young player, when he came back, he was a starter, a team leader, a Eurocup player at least with some National Team call-ups. Not only that. When he left Trento the first time, he was a lefthanded player and then he became… righthanded? Hoa was it possible?  “It was a change you don’t see often, especially at 24 or 25 years of age. During the unlucky Covid days, I thought for me there was an opportunity to do something that I had already in my mind. I wanted to make the change but there was no time to do it. When I understood that we were going to stop for four or five months, I embraced the chance. I thought if it goes bad, I can always come back to shoot lefthanded. Every now and then I try to shoot lefthanded again, but I changed completely my posture. So, as soon as I try, there’s a cramp in my shoulder. I won’t try anymore. Surely, talking to my teammates, opponents, it gives me an edge. Because I like to go left, but then I shoot righthanded. To guard me becomes more complicated. I try to take advantage of it.”

Now, Flaccadori is back in the EuroLeague, older and more mature, he was one of the best Italian players over the last couple of years, as a scorer, as a passer, as an overall sounded and competitive player, with more awareness of what’s expected of him, of how he can help as Olimpia is. “Honestly, I think this is the perfect time in my career to land to Olimpia, to come to a club like this. During my two years in Munich, I tasted what it is like to play for a EuroLeague team. I know what I need to do every day in order to stay consistent throughout the year and avoid the ups and downs. So, I feel I’m ready. Individually, I think can help the Coach, the team to win as many games as possible. We want to win trophies, and this is my goal. I want to hoist trophies at the end, and the more you go on with your career and the more you want to win. So, I have big expectations for me individually and for the team.”