Erdogan plays basketball with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and O’Neal play basketball at the Basketball Development Centre in Istanbul, shaking hands and exchanging signed balls after the game.

Newstimehub

Newstimehub

20 Jan, 2026

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played basketball with former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal on Tuesday at the Basketball Development Centre in Istanbul, according to a social media post shared by the Turkish leader.

In a post on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Erdogan shared images featuring a basketball and Turkish flag emoji. The photos showed Erdogan and O’Neal playing basketball, shaking hands and exchanging signed balls following the game.

Erdogan and O’Neal also posed for photos with students at the development centre.

The president was accompanied by senior Turkish officials during the event.