Dino Meneghin (Italian pronunciation:[ˈdiːnomeneˈɡin], Venetian:[meneˈɡiŋ]; born 18 January 1950) is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto (northeast Italy). On 20 November 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played in his first game in the Italian League, with Ignis Varese. He played the last game of his career at the age of 45.
In total, Meneghin played in 836 games and scored 8,560 points in the Italian League championship. Meneghin became the second player from a European league to be drafted by an NBA team, when the Atlanta Hawks manager Marty Blake selected him with a late-round pick in the 1970 NBA draft. He never played in the US, however.
In 1980 and 1983, he was elected European Player of the Year: Mr. Europa, and he also won the Euroscar European Player of the Year award in 1983. In 1991, he was named the greatest FIBA European Champions' Cup (EuroLeague) basketball player of all time, by the Italian basketball magazine Giganti del Basket.[2]
One of the greatest records of his career is his number of Finals appearances in the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague). He played in 10 consecutive finals with Pallacanestro Varese, winning 5; and later in 2 more consecutive finals with Olimpia Milano, winning both. Finally, before his playing career ended, Meneghin played in the Italian League against his son, Andrea, who was also a great international player.
On 28 October 2019, 25 years after he last played professionally, Olimpia Milano retired the number 11 in honor of Meneghin. The number 11 matched the number of seasons that he had played with the Italian club.[3][4]
Dino Meneghin is the father of Andrea Meneghin, who also played professional basketball. Andrea played against his father, during the latter's last season as a pro.
