A NEW York basketball player will not travel to London for an upcoming international game because he believes he could be assassinated for his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Enes Kanter announced his plan on Friday night after the New York Knicks beat the LA Lakers.

Kanter will stay in New York while the Knicks travel to face Washington at The O2 Arena in London on January 17.

He says he cannot travel anywhere except the US and Canada because “there’s a chance I could get killed out there”. “Sadly, I’m not going because of that freaking lunatic, the Turkish president,” Kanter said.

“It’s pretty sad that all the stuff affects my career and basketball, because I want to be out there and help my team win. But just because of the one lunatic guy, one maniac, one dictator, I can’t even go out there and do my job. It’s pretty sad.”