“I won’t continue playing for a Russian Army club!”: NBA Twitter lauds Tornike Shengelia as the CSKA Moskva star terminates his stay with the Russian club

Tornike Shengelia, a former CSKA Moscow player at the time of writing, listed the Russian Army’s attacks on Ukraine as his reason for leaving.

Tornike Shengelia is a 30-year-old 6’9″ forward/center who’s played in the Euroleague for most of his career. The Georgian-born professional submitted his name to the 2012 NBA Draft after starting his career at the age of 16.

His 4 years of experience at Valencia and Spirou Charleroi notwithstanding, he was selected 54th overall by the Sixers and then traded to the Nets on draft night. Shengelia was unable to crack the Nets’ rotation through 2 years on the roster.

This meant that he returned to European shores still young, aged 22. Tornike Shengelia signed a 3-year deal with Baskonia from the Liga ACB. His time at Baskonia lasted 6 years and yielded him a ton of professional success in Spain.

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Shengelia was selected to the All-Euroleague First Team in 2018 alongside current NBA MVP candidate Luka Doncic. He also won the Liga ACB championship with Baskonia during his final year with the ball club.

CSKA Moscow signed the then-28-year-old after buying his contract out from Baskonia for a sum of €1 million. The Georgian was considered by most Euroleague fans to be the most dominant player at his position at the time.

“I made this decision in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he told Georgian outlet Commersant, “I do not consider possible to continue playing for the Russian Army club.”

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Shengelia is receiving support from practically everyone on NBA Twitter. Mike James, a former CSKA Moskva player and teammate of Tornike himself, joined in.