May 2012 Besiktas Icrypex Wiretap
Pops Mensah-Bonsu is hoping for a return to Besiktas next season.
"I am very competitive and perhaps I chased it too hard in the NBA," said Mensah-Bonsu, who spent six seasons in the NBA with the Mavericks, Raptors, Spurs, Rockets, and Hornets. "Also it might be cliché but a lot of it is political in the NBA. I just couldn't settle for being second best and that's why I sometimes didn't last the whole season with clubs. I couldn't settle for being the 15th man (reserve) in the squad. It was a role I was neither willing, or experienced enough, to play.
"I would be aggressive and try and earn my spot when I should have been patient, waited for the second half of the season and perhaps got a run when I could have proved myself. But when you lose out you must never lose a lesson and if I end my playing career in Europe I am totally fine with that.”
Mensah-Bonsu averaged 14.4 points on 62.2 percent shooting last season for Besiktas.
“I have enjoyed a great season in Turkey and love the lifestyle that Europe offers,” he said. “I am still ambitious and if I continue to play in Europe I want to be the best player in Europe but first comes the blessing of an Olympics in my home city."
Mensah-Bonsu is one of four current or former NBA players set to compete for Great Britain in the upcoming Olympics.
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