Ahead of the new season, Geoff Gillingham went to Unipol Forum to see the players
What going to Milan’s media day showed me…
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Going to a media day is always exciting, particularly when it involves going to a club as historic and prestigious as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.
While this summer saw the high-profile departure of Nikola Mirotic, who joined AS Monaco after his contract expired, Milan has made six signings as it looks to return to the EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time since 2022 – and all six were present as they got their photos taken, engaged in interviews and took part in social media activities.
One thing that immediately stood out to me during the media day was the affection that Zach LeDay has from everyone at Milan – from his teammates to the coaching staff and other club employees. The 31-year-old was a leader for the Little Red Shoes on the floor last season, and Milan’s media day made it very evident that he is one of the leading voices in the locker room too, together with club captains Giampaolo Ricci and Shavon Shields.
If LeDay brings leadership, second-year guard Armoni Brooks brings humor. All throughout the first session, Brooks had a smile on his face and was a bundle of energy, which had a positive effect on his teammates. After a strong end to last season, the American shooting guard is primed for a strong Year 2.
Sticking in the backcourt, Quinn Ellis – who I interviewed for the EuroCup website in December 2023 – was beaming from ear to ear as he took part in his first EuroLeague media day, having joined Milan this summer from EuroCup side Dolomiti Energia Trento. He admitted to me that he is excited about carving out a role in Milan’s rotation this season and that he’s enjoying his daily battles against Lorenzo Brown – another new signing – in practice.
Speaking of Brown, I came away so impressed with him. The 35-year-old point guard is coming off a year in which he loved living in Athens but struggled for regular game time under Ergin Ataman at Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, yet he was very level-headed when talking to me about the whole experience and believes that Milan has the right mix of experience, determination and youth to turn heads this season.
It was also great to meet Vlatko Cancar, who has been snakebitten with injuries over the last few years but is prepared to make his mark in his debut EuroLeague season. Coming from the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the Slovenian forward was incredibly friendly and mentioned to me that he’s spent this summer getting his body right as he looks to put his injury woes in the past. He already has one of the best nicknames on the team, too – “Chucky”!
Another player who could surprise some people this season is Josh Nebo. EuroLeague fans won’t have to cast their minds back too far to remember Nebo dominating for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the 2022-23 campaign, but last season felt like it never really got started for the 28-year-old. Still, Nebo – like Cancar – prioritized working on his body during the off-season and will be hoping to show Milan supporters what he can do in a new-look center tandem with Devin Booker, particularly with ex-Maccabi teammate Brown throwing up lobs.
Last but not least, there was Marko Guduric. Coming off a season in which he became a EuroLeague champion for the first time with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Guduric’s participation at EuroBasket 2025 meant he had not even had one training session with his new Milan teammates when I spoke to him, but he was keen to stress the importance of going step by step this season, starting with the semifinals of the Italian Super Cup (on September 27).
Now that media day is in the books, there are less than two weeks until Milan gets its EuroLeague campaign underway with back-to-back road games in Belgrade, first at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on September 30 and then at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on October 2. It will be too early to make any sweeping statements after these two games, but coach Ettore Messina will be hoping that his new-look team can put on a couple of good performances and send out a statement to the rest of the league in the process.