Footage has been released showing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan playing basketball with former American National Basketball Association (NBA) player Shaquille O’Neal.
President Erdoğan met with O’Neal at the Turkcell Basketball Development Centre in İstanbul, where they spoke briefly.
O’Neal was told that his jersey number, 34, corresponds to İstanbul’s license plate code, and that President Erdoğan had previously served as the city's mayor.
President Erdoğan and O’Neal exchanged signed basketballs and played basketball together.
President Erdoğan and the renowned basketball player also posed for a commemorative photo with young athletes.
Also present were Minister of Labour and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Director of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) İbrahim Kalın, AK Party Deputy Chair Halit Yerebakan, AK Party members of parliament Mustafa Varank, Cüneyt Yüksel, Alpay Özalan, Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu and Ünal Karaman, President of the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) Hidayet Türkoğlu, TBF Vice President Harun Erdenay, and President of the World Ethnosport Union Bilal Erdoğan.
