He is “Mister Basket”. Since June 2019, after five years at the San Antonio Spurs, NBA, he is head coach and President of Basketball Operations of Olimpia Basketball Team – Armani Exchange Milano, whose owner is the unique fashion designer Giorgio. While coaching the Olimpia Team he has won the 2020 Super Cup and the 2021 Italian Cup.

During his outstanding career he has achieved twenty-nine trophies with the Clubs, including four Italian Championships, six Russian Championships, four “Euroleague”, one “Coppa delle Coppe” and three “VTB United League”.

Ettore embodies the National sport pride in the world.

He has been twice named coach of the year of Euroleague (2006 and 2008), five times Coach of the year in Italy, winning four times the EuroLeague Tournament, as well as the the Italian Basketball Championship and six times the Russian one. He has won three times the VTB League, eight times the Italian Cup, twice the Russian Cup as well as the Super Cup. For eleven times he happened to led one of his teams to the EuroLeague Final Four.

At the age of sixteen he has moved with his family close to Venice, Italy, where he began his career as a coach of the youth sector of Mestre Basketball Team.

He got a degree in Economics from the Venetian “Cà Foscari University” and a constantly growing professional, national and international, success defines him. He has held multiple times the role as Head Coach of the Italian Men Basketball National Team. With the national team he has won the Mediterranean Games and the silver medal at the Goodwill Games and, in 1997, he has led the Italian Team to get an European silver medal in Barcelona.

He has been head coach at Virtus Bologna – where in 2001 during a memorable season, he led the team to the Grand Slam with the Italian Cup, Italian Championship and EuroLeague – Benetton Treviso, CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid.His worldwide victories define Messina as one of the most appreciated and influential professionals in the history of basketball.In 2011/12 season he was part of the LA Lakers Team coaching staff, alongside Mike Brown as Head Coach.

After another winning experience in Moscow, in 2014, he returned to USA in order to become Assistant Coach of the San Antonio Spurs Team, becoming the first European coach in an NBA’s match [including the 2018 playoff series vs the Golden State Warriors Team], replacing the head coach Gregg Popovich.In 2016, back again to Italy, coaching the Italian Men National Team, he has reached the 2017 European Championships quarter finals.

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