One July evening, Cedi Osman was seated inside a Las Vegas restaurant at dinner with LeBron James. Osman, less than a month removed from completing his rookie NBA season with the Cavaliers, had recently returned stateside after playing two FIBA World Cup qualifying contests with the Turkish national team.
James told Osman he planned on training in Los Angeles soon, and extended an invitation for the second-year small forward to work out with him.
“[LeBron] said, ‘If you wanna join me, you can come,’” Osman told Sports Illustrated from Istanbul, during a Skype interview. “I was like, ‘Of course.