Adam Hanga had to wait longer than he wanted to lift the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague trophy, but when he was finally able to do so last month with Real Madrid, he became the first Hungarian player ever to claim the top continental crown. And he fulfilled a promise he made to himself several years ago.
Hanga grew up without a father and his grandfather Gyorgy Szep played that role for him until he passed away in April 2019.
"It is even hard to put it in words because he meant so much to me. Everybody knows that I didn't know my father and he was the one who raised me and kind of became my father. He was the person in my family asking for discipline and all that kind of stuff," Hanga said. "He was working two or three jobs. I remember he worked for 48 hours and rested for 24; two days working non-stop and one day off. When he was supposed to sleep, he would still take me to practice and to all of my games."