Donte DiVincenzo has yet another chance to add to his growing list of championship trophies.
DiVincenzo has won two DIAA state championships at Salesianum, two NCAA Tournament championships at Villanova and an NBA title in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
He’ll get a chance for a second NBA title after reportedly agreeing to a free-agent contract with the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. The Warriors, led by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, are two weeks removed from knocking off the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and the Warriors should be among the favorites next season.
ESPN reported that DiVincenzo will sign a two-year deal worth $9.3 million with a player option after one season. The Bucks traded DiVincenzo midway through last season to the Sacramento Kings.
The Bucks drafted DiVincenzo in the first round in 2018, 17th overall, making him the second Delaware native to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft. Since then, Bones Hyland was a first-round pick (26th overall) of the Denver Nuggets in 2021 and Jalen Duren was chosen No. 13 by the Charlotte Hornets last week.
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DiVincenzo was a key player for the Bucks heading into the playoffs last season. In fact, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo called him the “heart of the team” after a March 2021 game against the 76ers.
But DiVincenzo tore an ankle ligament in the first-round series against the Miami Heat and missed the rest of the postseason as the Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years. For DiVincenzo, it was his second major injury in three seasons with Milwaukee. He also missed most of his rookie season in 2018-19 with a foot injury.
The injury last season carried over into this one as DiVincenzo missed the first 34 games before returning. He struggled to find his rhythm after emerging as a starter the season before. He averaged 7.2 points in 20.1 minutes per game in 17 games last season with the Bucks before the trade. His shooting percentage was 33.1%. Both were down from DiVincenzo’s career-best 2020-21 season when he averaged 10.4 points in 27.5 minutes while shooting 42%.
DiVincenzo performed better with the Kings, who missed the playoffs, by averaging 10.3 points in 26.6 minutes while shooting 36.2%.
DiVincenzo became a restricted free agent after the season, but the Kings had declined to offer him a qualifying offer of $6.6 million, thus making him an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team.
The Warriors swooped in on the second day of NBA free agency to get DiVincenzo, whom they expect will complement sharpshooters in Curry and Thompson while helping to replace defensive specialist Gary Payton II, who is signing with Portland.
It seems like an ideal matchup to add a player with a championship pedigree in DiVincenzo to a team with a championship pedigree in the Warriors, with four championships in the last eight seasons.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
