The 27-year-old forward impressed on his home BKT EuroCup debut for Turk Telekom Ankara.
James Palmer set the tone for Turk Telekom against Buducnost
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Steven Enoch may have ended up securing Player of the Game honors during Turk Telekom Ankara’s 79-77 win at home to Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, but it was James Palmer that got the Turkish side on the right track.
Playing in his second BKT EuroCup season, having shined in his rookie campaign with Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in 2022-23, Palmer recovered from a difficult opening few minutes by scoring 8 first-quarter points. His first basket of the night was a memorable one for the Turk Telekom fans, too, as he did a reverse dunk after stealing the ball from Brandon Paul.
Those 8 points helped Turk Telekom end the first quarter 25-20 ahead, while the American also had 1 rebound and 1 steal to his name. In the second quarter, he didn’t add much to his tally, scoring 3 points, grabbing 1 rebound and dishing 2 assists. Importantly, though, his 11 points in total helped Turk Telekom establish a 50-38 lead heading into the halftime interval.
Palmer kept things moving in the second half, scoring a triple that made it 58-48 and recording a further 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Then, just as Buducnost was attempting to mount a comeback, he scored the first points of the fourth quarter – a finish under pressure – to open the gap to 13 points, 71-58.
Buducnost kept coming and managed to outscore Turk Telekom 8-19 the rest of the way, but without Palmer’s 16 points to that point, the visitors would have likely come away with the victory.
Building off a solid debut
Having finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks on his Turk Telekom debut, an 80-71 road loss at U-BT Cluj Napoca in Round 1, Palmer showed off his ability in front of his own fans this time, recording a stat line of 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Turk Telekom may feel somewhat fortunate to have come away with the victory, but following a summer in which it changed most of its roster, growing pains are to be expected. Fortunately for head coach Nenad Canak, being able to call upon a player such as Palmer should make his job a lot easier in the long run.