Newly crowned NBA champion Ariel Hukporti is available for world and European champions Germany.
His New York Knicks won the NBA title for the first time in 53 years on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. Hukporti, born in Stralsund, said at the post-match party that an international call-up would be welcomed after he was previously overlooked.
"I would play for Germany, that's not the issue. But I'm waiting for the call. That's all it takes," he told the Bild newspaper.
The 24-year-old has never played for the senior Germany team. The availability of NBA players is sometimes a problem, but coach Alex Mumbru now knows he need only get in touch to recruit an NBA champion.
The center is the third German NBA champion after Dirk Nowitzki in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks and Isaiah Hartenstein in 2025 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 2.13-metre Hukporti played in Germany for Freiburg's youth team and Ludwigsburg before moves to Lithuania and Australia. Eventually he got his NBA opportunity.
"At the draft, 29 teams ignored me. Only the Knicks believed in me. They gave me the chance to become an NBA player," he said. "When the chance came, I took it. And now we're number one together."
