Nicolò Melli

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Born
1991 (34 years old)

Birth Place
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Reggio Emilia, Italy

Position
Power Forward

Status
Active

Ethnicity
White

Team Number
9

Height
205 cm

Weight
100 kg

Outfitter

Kit

Agent

Wage Year

Player Cutout

Full Body Render

Player Poster
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Sport

Basketball

Team
Fenerbahçe Basketbol

2nd Team

League
Turkish Basketbol Super Ligi

Creative Commons Artwork
Yes

Description

Nicolò Melli (born 26 January 1991) is an Italian–American professional basketball player and the team captain for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Italian national team. He mainly plays at the power forward position, but he has also played at center. Melli earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2017.

Melli made his full debut (discounting the All-Star Game) for the senior Italian team in August 2011, though he was rarely called up until 2013.

After being called up to the Italy squad for EuroBasket 2013, the power forward had to play in an unfamiliar center position, due to the lack of big men in Italy's squad. Alternating at the position with Marco Cusin, he was pitted against bigger and stronger opponents, finishing the tournament with a respectable 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, in around 16 minutes played per game – with highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Turkey – as Italy reached the tournament's quarterfinals.

Melli also played at the EuroBasket 2015.

Melli scored a team high 15 points in a win against Nigeria in the preliminary round of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Melli is the son of the former volleyball player Julie Vollertsen—a silver medalist with the United States at the 1984 Olympic Games—and corporate lawyer (formerly amateur basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana and television journalist) Leopoldo Melli. They met when Vollertsen moved from the U.S. to Reggio Emilia to play professionally. Enrico, Melli's younger brother who was born in 1995, has also played basketball for Reggiana.

Melli has dual citizenship in Italy and the United States. He didn't visit the United States until he was 16, and he has said he doesn't feel very American. He describes his English as good but not fluent.