This is not a time to be sad. It is one of celebration. Achille Polonara has announced his retirement from basketball. Obviously we’ll miss him but he won’t be far away. Emmet Ryan on a man whose approach on the court led to so much love when he needed it away from it.
Achille Polonara tried. He had resumed individual training with a goal of making it back from cancer to the top level of basketball for a second time. That he opted against returning to play because, at 34, he felt he couldn’t be the player he wanted to be should be lauded. As a player, he always held himself to a high standard to inspire those around them. Even in retirement, he’s doing the same.
This is a man who has been through the kind of hell that none of us want to ever deal with. Polonara has made it out the other side twice and he’s always found a way to smile.
“I’ll miss you basketball” was his final line in the announcement. Not as much as we’ll miss you big guy.
A wandering winner
Achille Polonara’s career was a journey but he would never be confused with a journeyman. First there was the tour of Italy through Teramo, Varese, Reggio Emilia, and Sassari. Then he took his talents to Baskonia, Fenerbahce, Anadolu Efes, and Zalgiris Kaunas, before a final Italian swing at Virtus Bologna and Sassari again.
All the way he learned to adapt and find a way to help his team win. With Sassari there was the FIBA Europe Cup in 2019. A year later, in the pandemic shortened season, he won the ACB title with Baskonia, then came titles in Turkiye and Lithuania. His last crown, a Scudetto, was won by Virtus the day after it was announced he was being treated for cancer a second time.
Wherever Polonara went, he was plug and play. The more variety he experienced in the basketball world, the easier it became for him to adapt. Moreover, that breadth of experience gave him a level of understanding that enabled him to make even the players better than him deliver more efficiently. He was a coach’s dream for productive harmony.
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The modern template
That run to the FIBA Europe Cup with Sassari followed by the ACB crown with Baskonia told a lot in the stats. His average night across those runs, at all levels, was 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, while shooting comfortably over 40 per cent from deep.
It was the ideal set-up for a fourth or fifth option on a top tier team in Europe, especially one mindful of efficiency. Career wise in Euroleague the stats don’t hold up to the same degree but, when usage rate is factored in, that is largely remedied.
Achille Polonara’s game wasn’t about being the superstar but making the collective work of the five guys on the floor better. That meant doing what was needed to find that extra half metre of space for a shooter, switching tighter to force steal opportunities for others, and generally seeing the court at the broad level. Stars make headlines, Polonara wanted to make possessions.
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A national team fighter
When Italy named him to their provisional roster for EuroBasket 2025, it was a touching moment but one rooted in his contribution over the years. He fought and scrapped whenever called upon to wear the jersey. Marco Spissu wearing his number 33 in tribute was the perfect tribute through the tournament.
Sassari, with whom he was sadly unable to ever lace up formally in a competitive game, made sure he was part of the family. Every time he made an appearance, across Europe, we as fans and journalists were thrilled to see him and that big smile.
Achille Polonara has survived, twice, to see how much people love what he gave them through basketball. We in Europe love to take digs at each other, sometimes a bit too far, yet I remember the reaction when he made his first comeback. Everyone was overjoyed to see him on the court.
Have a healthy life Achille. I’ll raise a glass to you on my travels this week.