Bogdan Bogdanovic, NBA Fans React to Ex-Spurs Champion's Career Announcement

The LA Clippers' international star reacted with fans to Marco Belinelli's retirement post.

Nov 20, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chats with forward Marco Belinelli (right) before the game against the Boston Celtics at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Longtime international superstars in basketball are starting to retire one by one. Spanish star Rudy Fernandez retired after the 2024 Olympics. Slovenian superstar Goran Dragic retired in August of 2024. Marc and Pau Gasol called it quits just years ago, and Bojan Bogdanovic announced his retirement in June of 2025.

Now, former NBA champion in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, Marco Belinelli, announced his retirement from basketball.

Grazie, unico 🇮🇹

Marco Belinelli has announced his retirement from basketball 💙
#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/sxfzadCos7

— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 18, 2025

Belinelli played 13 seasons in the NBA and was consistently one of the best shooters in the league as a role player for years. He played in 860 total games, averaging 9.7 points per game on 37.6 percent from three-point range.

Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to Belinelli's farewell post

In a post on Instagram, Belinelli gave his thanks and gratitude to the game of basketball in a very touching cinematic video.

The post read: "I gave it my heart. Every piece of me. Every single day. Basketball gave me everything… and I gave it everything I had. Saying goodbye isn’t easy. But it’s time. I carry with me every emotion, every sacrifice, every cheer. Thank you to those who always believed. To the next generation—I leave a dream. Make it count."

Clippers guard and Serbian superstar Bogdan Bogdanovic commented on the post: "Grande leggenda!! [Great legend] 🙌🫡"

Bogdanovic's Serbian team defeated Belinelli's Italian team in the 2017 EuroBasket quarterfinals, 83-67.

Other fans chimed in to wish the former Spurs guard well in his future endeavors.

One fan said: "Grazie di tutto Marco [Thank you for everything Marco] ❤️"

Another replied: "Grandissimo uomo e atleta. Ci hai fatto esaltare. [Great man and athlete.. U had us high]"

Belinelli played in both the Italian Lega A and EuroLeague in the 2024-2025 season with Virtus Bologna. he averaged 8.8 points per game in 38 games played in Lega A in Italy and averaged 6.2 points per game in 30 games played in the EuroLeague.

Marco Belinelli 2014-2015 San Antonio Spurs shooting/scoring #spurs #nba @spurs @SpursCulture @marcobelinelli pic.twitter.com/nlVpA8wrJj

— Blake🏀 (@Schobeyy) July 28, 2025

The former NBA champion also won the three-point shootout at the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend, came in 11th in the voting for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award, and joins a number of notable former NBA players who have called it a career.

He became the first Italian player to win an NBA title with the Spurs in 2014, and set career-highs in field goal percentage (48.5 percent), three-point percentage (43 percent), and free-throw percentage (84.7 percent) that season.

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