Overview

Belinelli shows the maturity of a 10-year veteran on the court and has been playing professional basketball since age 15, but he just started coming into his own as a long-range shooter since joining Climamio Bologna two years ago.

He began his hoops career growing up with the Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna (Italy) youth teams, making his debut with Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna during the 2001-02 season. He led that team to the 2002-03 championship and signed for the 2003-04 season by Fortitudo Bologna.

Belinelli played at the 2004 European Junior Championship and was a member of the Italian Under-20 National Team. He helped win the 2004-05 Italian National Championship for Fortitudo Bologna, as he also guided that team to the 2005 Italian SuperCup. He played at the 2005 European Under-20 Championship and in the 2006 World Championship.

During the 2005-06 season, he started all 47 games he played in for Climamio Bologna. He shot 49.4 percent from two-point range (78 of 158) and 41 percent from 3-point range (132 of 322) to finish with 620 points, an average of 13.2 points per game. He also connected on 78.2 percent of his free throws, pulling down 59 rebounds with 78 assists.

The following season, Belinelli started 33 of 34 games for Climamio Bologna. He averaged 30.4 minutes, 15.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and two turnovers per game. He made 101 of 187 two-point shots (53.7 percent) and 76 of 231 3-point attempts (32.9 percent) while hitting on 98 of 131 chances from the charity stripe (74.8 percent). He added 45 assists with 12 steals and 12 blocked shots, but had 67 turnovers with 76 fouls.

Scouting Report

Positives: Very nimble player with good speed...Crowd-pleaser with trademark spin moves and dunks, showing great confidence in shots along the perimeter...Doesn't drive often, but has the explosion to defeat the defender coming off the dribble, elevating well with touch to finish...Uses his long arms well to get his shots above the rim...Ambidextrous and has no problem pushing the ball up court...Has good lateral range and hesitation moves to get the defense off its feet...Has enough ball-handling skill to put in decent minutes at the point without getting into trouble...Has a very quick release and can pull up, set his feet and fire comfortably from mid-range...Shoots well from a set position and is limber enough to take a shot off the dribble...Decent defender who keeps his long arms active looking for the steal...Best when playing in one-on-one situations but struggles at times handling the defensive switch...Likes to have the ball in his hands in clutch situations as he knows he has the range to fire, even when under pressure...Loves when a bigger, slower forward comes out to defend him on the perimeter, as he then uses his array of pump fakes and hesitation moves to get his opponent off-balance before taking the uncontested shot over his man...Can lead the team on the fast break, but must not get too fancy with his passes.

Negatives: Has a rail-thin frame and needs to add considerable bulk...Seems to prefer parking himself on the perimeter, but has a low release that sees more than a handful of his 3-point attempts get blocked or altered...Needs to develop better slashing moves to the basket...Struggles to make his shot when the defender faces up to him...Lacks size and strength you look for in a shooting guard and might not be able to handle the physical aspect of the NBA game...Needs to use his quick initial step more often to play inside and drive to the basket...Rarely goes strong to the hoop...Feels that every time he touches the ball that he needs to shoot it...Has a bit of a high dribble, inviting a turnovers...His passes lack crispness...Gets a bit off-balance and out of control when trying to defend vs. the pick-and-roll.

Compares To: RAJA BELL, Phoenix. Belinelli is a showman with his spinning moves and fancy passes, showing great confidence in his outside shot, but he has become almost too reliant on his perimeter abilities and does not drive to the rim as often as he should given his quickness. He is an efficient one-on-one defender, but gets caught up in the action playing in the zone, struggling to make the quick switch. His frame is rail-thin, possibly why he is so hesitant to take the ball into the paint, but he is a quality shooter who can put up quick points off the bench.

Personal

Born 3/25/86...Resides in San Giovanni, Persicito, Italy.

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