Istanbul latest stop as Gurnee's Brandon Paul chases his NBA dream

At a time to celebrate the future, Brandon Paul was in a foreign country facing its blemishes of the past year.

On New Year's Day, a gunman shot up an Istanbul, Turkey, nightclub, killing 39 people. Paul, a basketball star at University of Illinois and Warren Township High School, was in an Istanbul taxi with teammates from his current team, Anadolu Efes. When news of the attack came, Paul and his friends acted on instinct, an essential move in the capital of a nation where the unknown has become reality. They went home.

The attack followed a bombing the prior month that killed 38 near an Istanbul stadium. The gunman's attack, he said, “was pretty scary. We knew there might've been some things going on based on previous events so ... we ended up staying home, which was a blessing for us.”

Paul, 26 and a native of Gurnee, is eight years past his high school glory days, when he was named “Mr. Basketball,” an honor given to the best high school player in Illinois. He starred at the U of I, too, and in 2012 he scored 43 points against third-ranked Ohio State.

But he wasn't drafted by an NBA team, and after getting cut by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, he's played in three foreign countries in the past four years.

Yet the 6-foot-3 guard still dreams of an NBA future. And with his trusted adviser - his mother - Paul has carefully scoped out the best places from which to take his best shot. Before heading to Turkey, it had to pass Mom's test.

Three-point plan

After college, Paul played in a summer league for the Minnesota Timberwolves, then signed with a Russian team for the 2013-14 season, returned to the U.S. to play for an NBA development team in Canton, Ohio, then a season in Spain. Another NBA summer league followed, leading to his release in October by the 76ers after four preseason games.

Wherever Paul has landed, his next basketball home had to give him the best opportunity to make his NBA dream come true. His mom, Lynda, calls it the three-point system involving a winning culture, analyzing the political risk, and making sense financially.

Enter Anadolu Efes. The Turkish Super League is known for having the most fundamentally sound basketball players, according to Paul and his teammates. NBA scouts are always at league games, trying to gauge the best talent to bring to the U.S. - Hedo Turkoglu played for Anadolu Efes before Sacramento drafted him in 2000.

Anadolu Efes is the Boston Celtics of the Turkish League, having won a league-high 13 championships. The winning culture is there.

First box: Check.

The second point wouldn't be as easy. Lynda wanted to ensure that Turkey would be worth the difficult political environment.

“From a maturity standpoint, I am not concerned about Brandon's safety necessarily, but it certainly would be better if he was in the United States, where I understand the rule of law and where everyone tries to respect the rule of law,” she said. “I pray, and then I don't worry as much.”

Sometimes worry is hard to avoid, especially when forced to face reality because of a job. Lynda, herself a former college basketball player, knows about events around the world because she is a money manager, tracking the events of Turkey, Russia and the European Union, with no room to escape the headlines.

But that knowledge leads to comfort as well. Lynda knows Turkey is safer and more like the U.S. than Russia. Today, Brandon lives in an apartment complex with his teammates and inside a community that might remind an outsider of the U.S.

A mother's concern will always be there, but it's not something Lynda allows herself to think about. She has the same mindset as Brandon and his teammates: Violence can happen anywhere.

“So yes, does (Brandon living in Turkey) concern me? As much as it would concern me if he were in other parts of the country, other parts of the world that does not have the same rule of law as the United States,” Lynda said. “At the same time, anything can happen anywhere.”

Second box: Check.

With the help of Brandon's agent, Adam Pensack, who has steered Paul to sound decisions in the past, Lynda said they found in Turkey an option that made the most financial sense.

While salaries are not disclosed, the top 30 players in the league earn between $1 million and $3 million per season. Most of the players in the league are paid between $5,000 to $10,000 with housing, a car and food often covered.

Third box: Check.

Perspective

On the basketball court, home fans are friendly, Paul says, but those on the road are more spirited and into the game than their American counterparts - think throwing objects.

But overall, Turkey is no more dangerous than it could be in Orlando, in Manchester, or even home.

“Being from the Chicagoland area, there's a lot of things that happen in Chicago because of gun violence, which is really unfortunate,” Brandon said. “There are some areas in Chicago where you won't be safe; I feel like that's what it's like everywhere else in the world.”

Istanbul, Paul says, is a fast-paced city filled with beautiful sights and delicious food, but there are also moments when he must pause and remember where he is. He was washing dishes, and his Brazilian friend asked why he wasted so much water. Back in the friend's hometown, there wasn't extra water to be spared.

“That just sort of put things in perspective,” Paul said. “Just stuff like that makes you appreciate life more and you want to spread that wisdom to your friends and family about how good we have it.”

The politics in Turkey can be difficult, too. For instance, Paul's roommate Deshaun Thomas was stunned when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cut off access to some social media, such as Instagram, leading to higher tensions between the government and the Turkish people.

Paul, meanwhile, remains focused on the goal of the three-point system. Anadolu Efes, with Paul coming off the bench to rank sixth in team scoring, was eliminated from the Turkish Airline EuroLegaue Playoffs. He's now playing in the Spor Toto Basketbol Super League Playoff. But Paul really hopes for another crack at the NBA.

For now, though, he tries to enjoy the moment.

“I make a lot of money to do the thing that I love to do and I get to travel the world,” he said. “I'm excited for the ride, and I hope to have this lifestyle for as long as I can.”