NBA basketball player D’Angelo Russell expressed his desire to play for the Lithuanian men’s basketball team, the “15min” portal reported on Friday.
The presidency confirmed to the portal that it was aware of the desire of the 28-year-old American who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“The presidency is aware of the existence of such a basketball player and his personal ties to Lithuania, but no formal legal proceedings regarding citizenship have yet been initiated,” said Frederiks Janson, advisor to the president.
According to “15min”, the news of D. Russell’s interest was presented to President Gitan Nausėda by the parents of Matas Buzelis, who plays in the NBA, Kristina and Aidas. Mindaugas Balčiūnas, president of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, said that a few months ago “consultations” took place at the presidency regarding this situation.
According to “15min”, D. Russell would be very interested in the opportunity to represent Lithuania at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The basketball player could play for the Lithuanian national team if the president grants him citizenship of the country. D. Russell’s partner is Laura Ivaniukas, a Canadian of Lithuanian origin, the couple is not married, but has two children.
According to the law, the President may exceptionally grant Lithuanian citizenship to foreigners who have made special merits to the state or to stateless persons who have integrated into Lithuanian society.
Special merits of the Lithuanian statehood are those activities in which a foreigner makes a particularly significant contribution to strengthening the Lithuanian statehood, increasing its power and authority in the international community.
G. Nausėda this week granted Lithuanian citizenship to ice dancer Allison Reed.
