By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Shane Larkin banked career-high 37 points in EuroLeague Round 25 game against Barcelona while shooting 13-15 from the field (six triples) along with five rebounds and an assist.
When asked during his EuroLeague Sweet 16 interview whether there was anything different in his routine before the game, the 25-year-old was negative but did mention he found some extra boost in the fact that two years ago, he signed a deal with Barcelona, however, instead he decided to opt out and go to the NBA and the Boston Celtics for the 2017-18 season:
“No, not really, I’ve done the same thing I’ve always done pretty much. We stay in the hotel as a team so it’s not like I was at home. We were in the hotel, we had the same routine we usually do but… there was a little extra to it. You know, I signed with Barcelona two years ago before opting to go to the NBA and I wanted to put like a standpoint: This could’ve been but I’m different colors right now, so, there was definitely some added motivation to go out there and on top of the fact that they beat us when we went to Barcelona, they beat us pretty well and I didn’t play that well. There was some extra motivation that just gave me some more drive.”
Larkin also shared some of his thoughts about the future and although his primary rout is still the NBA, he wouldn’t mind staying in Europe for the remainder of his career:
“I don’t know what my future holds right now. I obviously enjoy playing in Europe and I think there’s a great game of basketball over here that fans are great over here, the atmosphere is amazing so I’ve enjoyed my time in Europe and, obviously, the NBA is back home and it’s the highest level of competition so you wanna go out there and prove yourself and compete against the best players in the world but some people’s paths are different so if I stay in Europe for the next six, seven years and continue playing well and become one of those all-time great players in Europe, that will be amazing as well so I can’t sit here and tell you I’m committed to Europe for the next six, seven, eight years of my career but I also can’t tell you I’m leaving Europe and not coming back. I’ve got to go season by season”, Larkin said.