NBA 2006 No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani played 10 years in the NBA — mostly with the Raptors but also with the Knicks and Nets — before finishing his pro career in Spain. Since retiring, Bargnani has returned to his native Italy and has been an active investor. Most recently, the 39-year-old made his first sports tech investment in Pick-Roll, a social basketball app that connects players seeking to join pickup games and find community around a shared love of the sport. On the appeal of joining Pick-Roll . . . I’ve been very active in the private equity, venture capital world in the last few years. So when I got in touch with Pick-Roll, I immediately liked the fact that it meets the most basic need of every basketball player, which is to find the nearest playground and organize a pickup ball game. It sounds pretty, pretty simple, but it can be very challenging at times. And there are millions of basketball players out there, so I think the idea is very scalable in the future. -via Sports Business Journal / July 3, 2025
