Danilo Gallinari May Have Hurt Himself Punching An Opponent In An Italian National Team Game

Danilo Gallinari’s summer got far more interesting than the Clippers were hoping it would, when the newly acquired forward found himself in a fight during an ironically named friendly exhibition matchup between Italy and the Netherlands.

Gallinari took exception to getting smacked in the face Jito Kok of the Dutch team after an Italy free throw and ran up on Kok to give him a piece of his mind. The two shoved each other and then Gallinari connected with a hard right hand to the face of Kok before the two could be separated. In a sport that rarely sees punches connect, this is one of the harder hits you’ll see in a basketball fight.
https://twitter.com/chernykh/status/891756815482060800

Making matters worse for Gallinari, beyond getting tossed from an exhibition game, is that he’s now reportedly undergoing tests to determine whether he’s suffered any serious injuries to his right hand that he landed the punch with.

The Clippers are going to need to stage some form of seminar for their players about the dangers of punching someone else in the face, because between Blake Griffin breaking his hand on a staffer’s face a year ago and now Gallinari letting the fists fly against the Dutch, it’s getting a bit out of hand. Hopefully Gallo didn’t sustain any serious injuries and hopefully Kok is alright as well, but this should serve as a friendly reminder to basketball players that punching people or things rarely ends well.

Update: Gallinari reportedly has a right thumb injury, but not anything severe enough to require surgery, although the Clippers will have their team doctors look at him for a second opinion soon.