Former NBA guard Shane Larkin said he was not fit enough to play for the Turkish national team in an Olympic pre-qualifying tournament this month, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays.
Larkin was fined approximately 3,000 Euros and suspended for five matches during the upcoming Turkish Super League season for failing to report to the national team. However, Larkin admitted that the national team knew it was “dangerous” for him to play.
“I am in the USA working on my body and trying to recover from a season full of injuries and train for the upcoming season. The national team still asked me to report to the camp and go for an MRI in my knees to get an accurate diagnosis,” Larkin said on Instagram. “I flew from Miami to Istanbul and the doctor of the national team told me that I was in bad shape and that if I pushed myself, I would risk serious damage to my knee in the short and long term. Word for word, I was told that ‘if you push yourself and don’t give yourself time to heal, you may need surgery that will keep you out for months.’ I was told not to kneel and to stop doing any lower body work. I immediately started treatment with various medications to help myself heal and was asked to come back a week later for another MRI. I did. I did exactly what was asked of me and when I went back for the second MRI, the bone was healing but still not in a place where I could safely go and play sports.’
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard James Anderson signed a one-year contract with Manisa in Turkey, Sporting relays. Anderson played last season for UCAM Murcia in Spain. Anderson appeared in 247 NBA regular season games, most recently with Sacramento during the 2015/16 season.
- In the last dozen years, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan joined the Drew League. The Athletic’s Law Murray takes a close look at the summer pro-am league, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
- France has been eliminated from World Cup contention. Get the details here.