Shane Larkin explains why he declined NBA offers and stayed in Efes / News - Basketnews.com

Shane Larkin said that Efes and Turkey were the places where he felt he could consistently grow and fulfil his dreams as a basketball player without bouncing around from team to team.

Credit: EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages Credit EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages

Before coming to Europe, Shane Larkin spent multiple seasons in the NBA. After his first year with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, he went back to play for the Boston Celtics. A year later, Larkin came back to Europe and has stayed here ever since.

Shane Larkin

MIN:26.11PTS:12.33 (53.62%)REB:3.67As:3.5ST:1.17BL:0TO:1.67GM:6ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

Larkin has been a member of the Anadolu Efes Istanbul roster for the last 5 years now. Ahead of the match against Olympiacos Piraeus, the guard explained why decided to remain with the club for that long.

"I think you just have to balance the pros and the cons. After bouncing around so many places through so many years, once you find the place that you feel comfortable or you feel you can grow as a player, I think it's best to stay in those situations so you can reach the potential you believe that you have," he told Achilleas Mavrodontis from Sportal.gr.

"My first year in Efes started really slow, really rocky but then towards the end of that season I really started turning it up, and then I had an offer to go back to the NBA that summer but I wanted to continue to grow on that momentum," Larkin explained.

According to BasketNews sources, Larkin drew interest from the Washington Wizards last summer. In the end, the player decided to stay in Turkey and extended his contract with Efes.

"That second season here was when I probably had the best season in my career. Ever since then, just being comfortable with the coaches, the staff, the city, becoming a Turkish national citizen, playing with the national team, it just felt like a place where I could really grow to my full potential and be who I wanted to be," he said to Sportal.

"That's kind of why I decided to stay here for the last couple of years, and it's been nothing but love and support," Larkin concluded.

After missing the vast majority of the first half of the EuroLeague season with a hand injury, Larkin has come back to the court and has been averaging 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals for 15.3 PIR in the competition this year.

Full Sportal.gr interview with Shane Larkin:

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