Talen Horton-Tucker is having the season of his life.
The 25-year-old Chicago native is averaging 15.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 36 EuroLeague appearances for Fenerbahce Beko this season, shooting 48.4 percent from the field.
As the Turkish club finished fourth in the regular-season standings at 24-14 and just punched its ticket to the 2026 Final Four with a gritty 3-1 quarterfinal win over Zalgiris, Horton-Tucker is leading the charge.
In a raw, wide-ranging interview on the EURO INSIDERS podcast, the former Lakers champion opened up about everything from his Chicago roots to the lessons he took from playing alongside LeBron James—and why the EuroLeague feels like the perfect next chapter.
“I’m a LeBron fan,” Horton-Tucker said. “I seen more LeBron growing up and then LeBron actually, playing with LeBron definitely showed me a lot about him. Just knowing that the type of person that he is and how much he actually puts into the game, it’s great.”
He didn’t stop there. When asked for his GOAT take, the Chicago product—raised in the same city that worships Michael Jordan—landed on a clear stance: “1A’s LeBron.”
That respect runs deep. Horton-Tucker won an NBA title with the Lakers in the 2020 bubble at just 19 years old, the youngest American to do so. He credits veterans like Rajon Rondo for taking him under their wing and teaching him to “keep the main thing the main thing.”
Yet after bouncing around the NBA, he chose a riskier path: crossing the Atlantic for his first season in Europe.
“I feel like it’s the highest level outside of the NBA,” he explained. “I always wanted to play against the best.”
The adjustment has been real. Tighter spacing, no defensive three-second rule, goaltending allowed on the rim—details matter more here. Horton-Tucker says the game has sharpened him.
“Over here the details matter a lot more,” he noted. “Seeing the tactical side of basketball on this level is definitely crazy… it makes you respect a lot of players and a lot of coaches.”
He’s also rebuilding his reputation after some NBA narrative noise about his body and professionalism. Coming off a strong college year at Iowa State—where he played through an undiagnosed stress fracture in his right foot—Horton-Tucker wanted to prove he could be a consistent winner again.
Fenerbahce coach Sarunas Jasikevicius has pushed him hard, and Horton-Tucker loves it.
“He demands a lot out of us. He demands excellence,” he said. “Just having a coach like that… you kind of see why we have the success that we have so far.”
That success now includes a Final Four semifinal matchup against Olympiacos on May 22 in Athens. Horton-Tucker isn’t chasing individual awards.
“My goals honestly, I ain’t going to lie. I don’t have any individual goals here,” he said. “Just being able to win and win this championship here… I’ll be one of the only players to have an NBA championship and a EuroLeague championship.”
