"I sucked at media": Andrea Bargnani revisits infamous Raptors pasta commercial
Throughout their 30-year history, the Toronto Raptors have had many of their players do all sorts of endorsement deals.
But perhaps none are more infamous than the commercial that Andrea Bargnani filmed with Primo Pasta.
The Italian-born forward, who was the first overall pick in the 2006 draft and spent seven years with the team before being traded to the New York Knicks, was the star of an awkwardly zooming ad. “Primo Pasta” became nearly synonymous with Bargnani’s name among Raptors fans.
“I didn’t do many commercials… It’s going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” Bargnani said on the latest episode of the Raptors in-house show Open Gym.
A commercial that's part of history šš
New episode of Open Gym out now ā”ļø https://t.co/1bz0QAXar2ā¦
Presented by @Bell pic.twitter.com/f3085piCC9
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 5, 2024
“I always sucked really bad at media and in front of the camera,” Bargnani laughed. “A lot of people don’t know anything about me… they just don’t know me.”
Though he ended up playing 550 games in his NBA career, Bargnani was unable to ascend to the stardom many other first-overall picks end up achieving. But despite having an up-and-down pro career that ended in 2017 after a stint with the Spanish team Baskonia, the now 39-year-old Bargnani seems to have a positive view of it all.
“Looking back, I wanted to play all my career in Toronto,” Bargnani added. “When I was putting the Toronto jersey on, having Toronto here on the chest… Toronto, for me, is something special; it’s not just another city or place where I play. It’s still a big part of my life. Canada is still a big part of my life. I look at those memories not in a dramatic way but in a positive way; I did something unbelievable. I was able to play for the Raptors. It’s something I’m very proud of.”
The full Open Gym episode is available below: