By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes star guard Shane Larkin said that he received a couple of “great” offers this summer to return to the NBA but they didn’t result in a contract.
“I would say that’s the goal. I’d say that’s definitely the goal. To win a [EuroLeague] championship with Efes is definitely what I want to do and what I want to accomplish. But I am from America and the NBA is the NBA and it’s always the goal as mine as well,” Larkin said in a zoom call. “So I would not say that you can completely rule out the NBA. I definitely had some great offers from the NBA this summer but ended up not working out.”
Larkin and Efes are once again aiming to lift the EuroLeague trophy at the end of the season, after completing 2018-2019 as finalists.
“I am back with Efes and fully committed to the team and fully committed to trying to win the championship. But I am still 27 years old. I still have a lot of basketball left in my body. I wouldn’t be able to rule out NBA yet. We will see what happens. I am fully committed to the team, fully focused on winning the championship. And I will do anything and everything I can to accomplish that for this club, for these people, and for this country.”
Before the season was canceled in both EuroLeague and the Turkish BSL, Efes was at the top of the standings in the two competitions. Larkin believes that both leagues made the right call in shutting down.
“It’s a tough situation because the virus was affecting so many people and so many lives,” Larkin said. “It was a tough call for EuroLeague and BSL. From our perspective, as Efes, we wanted an opportunity to finish what hadn’t finished. We were on our way to that. Everybody was saying we were the favorites to win EuroLeague and BSL. So it’s very very very very unfortunate that the way that season had to end. But at the end of the day, we are all humans. I think we made our peace with it. I understand that life is more important. I wouldn’t have, been able to feel good about winning a championship or finish the season if something very bad happens to any player or their families. As tough as it is, I think it was the right decision. Regards to our team, we have the same team, same players, same coach. We have everybody as healthy now. I see no reason we don’t have the same kind of success that we had last year. I know some teams got better, they signed some players and got better. But nobody plays together for 3 years like we are doing other than Madrid. I think that’s gonna continue to make us a very special team and keep us at the top of the standings.”