Polish star Mateusz Ponitka, who plays for Bahçeşehir Koleji SK, recently revealed in an interview with the media that he had received contract offers from NBA teams early in his career but ultimately chose to stay.

In a media interview, Ponitka said that as early as 2016 when he was playing for Zielona Gora, the Denver Nuggets had offered him a contract, but he did not have enough courage to pursue his dream at that time.

"I felt a responsibility to stay with the team and didn't want to leave on the eve of the playoffs," Ponitka said. "If someone had told me it would benefit the team, I probably would have left, but I wasn't mentally prepared."

Although Ponitka's dream is to go to the NBA, he admits frankly that even if he really goes to the NBA, it may only be a short experience, because his mentality at the time is not enough to support him in the long run, and he is afraid of losing himself.

After leading Poland to an upset victory over Slovenia at the 2022 European Championships and completing a historic triple-double, Ponitka again received short-term contract offers from the NBA, but he rejected them outright. Ponitka said, "Those were just 10-day contracts. They were meaningless."

Now 32, Ponitka is a leader of the Polish national team. At EuroBasket 2025, he averaged 18.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He admits that his true passion lies not in the individual performance of the NBA but in the team spirit of European basketball.

Now, Ponitka has given up his dream of playing in the NBA, revealing: "In the summer league, I realized that it was not my world. I like sharing the ball and the brotherhood, but the business atmosphere I felt there was not what I wanted."