Ex-Miami Hurricane Shane Larkin sets EuroLeague single game scoring record

C. Isaiah Smalls II

Shane Larkin might not find himself overseas for much longer.

The former Miami Hurricane broke the EuroLeague scoring record Friday, dropping 49 points in Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s 103-75 victory over FC Bayern Munich. More impressively, Larkin needed only 19 shots to get there since he went 10/12 from behind the arc.

“He’s without a doubt a NBA player now that he’s improved his shooting as much as he has,” tweeted Jonathan Givony, a NBA Draft analyst for ESPN.

Larkin signed with Anadolu Efes prior to the 2018-19 season. He averaged just over 12 points per game on roughly 55-percent shooting and 45-percent from three en route to winning the Turkish National Championship. His team fell short of winning the EuroLeague Final Four title yet Larkin’s 29 points set a championship game record.

The point guard picked up right where he left off, averaging 22 points per game on 52-percent shooting to start the season. He’s also hitting 51-percent of his threes.

Larkin hasn’t played in the NBA since his one year stint with the Boston Celtics during 2017-18 season. The Dallas Mavericks selected Larkin with the No. 18 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Despite perimeter shooting being one of Larkin’s strengths in college, it never quite translated to the next level. Larkin’s NBA career three point percentage is only 34-percent.

In June, USA Today’s Alex Kennedy reported Larkin was drawing interest from several NBA teams. Expect several teams to send scouts to Istanbul if Larkin can keep this up.