The Boston Celtics have long had ties to Turkey through basketball, but they just got a little more complicated.
For most of the team’s history, their Turkish connection primarily consisted of playing exhibition games with teams based in that country, spanning Europe and Asia such as Fenerbahçe, who play in both the Turkish and Euroleague.
Boston has also had Turkish players, such as Semih Erden, a center who played with the Celtics in the 2010-11 NBA season.
More recently, the outspoken Enes Kanter joined the team, bringing his politics with him to Boston, including a longstanding feud with the president of his native country, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Shane Larkin için Türk isimleri alalım 🙄😅 pic.twitter.com/V80nlyYL9L
— EuroLeague Türkiye (@EuroIeagueTR) December 15, 2019
Now, news former Celtics reserve point guard Shane Larkin may receive Turkish citizenship in order to be eligible to play for the Turkish National Team is circulating through the NBA media sphere, a move that may raise at least one set of eyebrows on Boston’s current roster.
“I don’t know Larkin is a Turkish citizen,” said Erdogan, reports AA.com’s Emre Asikci. “We want to see a successful player like him in our national basketball team squad. Shane Larkin can carry our national team to good results.”
The former Celtic seems amenable to getting Turkish citizenship so he can qualify to play for that country’s national team, stating (via Reuters), “[i]t would be a great offer, if it comes.”
“I feel this is more like a home for me. Turkey’s jersey would look pretty good on me too,” added the Miami product, who currently plays for Anadolu Efes in the Euroleague and Turkish Basketball Super League.
As Turkish President Erdogan arrived in the United States for a White House meeting on Wednesday with President Trump, Senators Edward Markey and Ron Wyden held up NBA player Enes Kanter as a victim of the Turkish government’s targeting of political rivals https://t.co/AFcoF44sEl pic.twitter.com/zI74MaX8In
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 13, 2019
Larkin is averaging 22 points and 3.8 assists per game with his new club, who he signed with after leaving Boston in 2017-18.
There, he has found stability in his overseas success, never staying in one place more than a season until his current stop previously.
The 27-year-old floor general recently set a Euroleague scoring record of 49 points in a single game against Bayern Munich, and will earn $2.8 million next season should he remain with the team next season.
From the sounds of things, that sounds like a distinct possibility, though it could make future Celtics events a little more awkward than it otherwise would have if Boston’s Turkish contingent makes a simultaneous appearance.