D'Angelo Russell has expressed his intention to represent Lithuania internationally. He targets the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games for his possible debut. While the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) is reserved about it, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, would not be against it due to Russell's partner being of Lithuanian descent.
Los Angeles Lakers star guard D'Angelo Russell is interested in playing for Lithuania internationally in FIBA tournaments.
According to Rokas Pakenas from 15min, Russell has expressed his intention of representing Lithuania. BasketNews sources confirmed this information.
The idea of Russell playing for Lithuania was presented to the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, by the parents of Chicago Bulls first-round draftee Matas Buzelis, who had a visit at the Presidential Palace.
Russell's partner, Laura Ivaniukas, with whom he has two children, is of Lithuanian descent, which would open up a possible path to citizenship, which is required for playing for a country internationally.
"The President's institution is aware of the player and his connection to Lithuania, but formal citizenship procedures haven't been started yet," the President's representative told Pakenas.
While the topic of possible naturalization in basketball was previously met with pushback from the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF), President Nauseda expressed a slightly different position last summer.
"In principle, I would look at the naturalization in a more liberal way, it wouldn't have to be an artificial naturalization of a person who has no emotional connection to Lithuania. Some kind of an emotional connection would still have to exist," Nausėda told BasketNews in July.
"The world is moving in that direction, and the view of it is much more simplified than it was 10 or 20 years ago. But once again, I wouldn't want to do it in a fake manner," he said.
Russell would target the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games for his debut in the Lithuanian national team.
"Russell's situation is not news for me, we've talked about it with his representatives, but we currently have Ignas Brazeikis, so the position of a naturalized player is taken," said Mindaugas Balciunas, the newly-elected President of LKF.
While naturalization has been an issue, an important step was recently taken, as ice dancer Allison Reed, a US citizen, was granted Lithuanian citizenship on November 21st after previously applying for it two different times and getting denied.
Reed and her ice dance partner, Saulius Ambrulevicius, qualified for the 2022 Olympic Games, but Reed couldn't compete because she was not a Lithuanian citizen. The pair placed 3rd in the 2023 European Championship.
