A little break from all the playoff threads... After his NBA career fizzled, Mike Dan Tony played in Italy for Olimpia Milano, where he earned two nicknames: Il Baffo (Italian for "The Mustache") and Arsène Lupin, the name of a fictional gentleman thief created by a French writer. He was the first non-Italian captain ever for Olimpia and led the team to two European Championships and five Italian Championships. He retired after 13 years as Olimpia's all-time leading scorer and in 1990 was voted the greatest point-guard in Italian basketball history. One of D'Antoni's biggest fans was Kobe Bryant, who grew up in Italy during the height of D'Antoni's playing career. But could he play? Was MDA a baller? Judge for yourself:
Just looked at the ABA's 1975-76 Spirits of St. Louis. Check out the big names on their roster: M.L. Carr, Don Chaney, Mike D'Antoni, Caldwell Jones, Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone Yet they stumbled to a 35-49 record and a 6th-place finish. WTF?
That had to be about the lamest highlight reel I've ever seen... lol! He made a couple shots, but otherwise did not look skilled at all... he looked like he struggled to dribble while just keeping it in front of him.. and what a shock, no defensive highlights at all - lol
