Passionate about chess and the tactical side of basketball, the star of Stela Bucharest compared the capital of Romania with New York: “The traffic is similar”

Ashley Davis31/10/2025

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Article by David Istrate – Published Friday, 31 October 2025, 09:32 / Updated Friday, 31 October 2025 09:35

Aged 24, Dame Adelekun, the new pivot of Stela Bucharest, is one of the best players in the current season of the National Men's Basketball League. The 2.03-meter-tall American is a chess enthusiast, has an account on Substack where he analyzes matches and talked about how he feels in Bucharest, a city he compared to New York.

After 6 stages of the 2025-2026 season, Dame Adelekun averages 20.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, particularly impressing in the matches against CSM Târgu Mureș (32 points, 15 rebounds), SCM U Craiova (27 points, 11 rebounds) and CSM Corona Brașov (23 points, 13 rebounds).

Dame Adelekun, the leader of Stella: “We are the club of the army, we show a physical, collective basketball and we do not take steps back”

Coming to Romania after debuting as a professional in Great Britain, Adelekun explained how he feels in our country.

“I like it a lot, I can't complain about anything, I like the coach a lot, I like the team and the environment I'm in. Bucharest is a beautiful city, it's full of life. I can compare a little with New York, the vibe of a big city, with people with a sense of fashion, a noisy city I would say, the traffic is definitely similar to that of New York”, said the pivot of CSA Steaua Sharks Bucharest, in an interview for probaschet.ro.

Adelekun said he is willing to do whatever it takes for the team to win, whether it's points, rebounds or assists. The 24-year-old athlete gets along very well with Andrei Mandache, the coach in his first season in this position, whom he describes as an “older brother”.

“He's always joking in training, he doesn't want to play 1-on-1 with me, let that be recorded”, said Adelekun.

“Wherever you are, basketball is about identity. At Steaua, we show physical basketball, we play pretty hard. You see how we fight for victories, it makes sense since we are the army club, we show physical, collective basketball and we don't back down. Every day, we are competitive in training, there is a strong spirit of brotherhood, it is something I really like at Steaua“, added the American.

Passionate about chess and the tactical side of basketball, the star of Stela Bucharest compared the capital of Romania with New York:

Dame Adelekun, shooting at the basket in the confrontation with CSM Corona Brașov from the first stage/Photo: Facebook (Steaua Bucharest)

Dame Adelekun, fascinated by chess: “I always liked the strategy part”

Adelekun has set his sights on becoming a better player this season and hopes Steaua will finish the season in the top half of the table. Although he is only 24 years old, the New York native is fascinated by the tactical aspect of basketball and spends his free time doing game analysis on Substack.

“Ask any coach I've had so far and they'll tell you they live on Synergy. Ștefan Odea is a fantastic scout, I don't really do my scouting anymore because of the very good reports he makes. I like to analyze, look over statistics, see what style of play the opponents have, if they have fewer possessions in transition or how they prefer to score. I look at the players' tendencies, to see what kind of throws are advantageous to them or not, how good an opponent is in defense, so I know if it's better to play with him in the post or play through a screen, for example”, explained Adelekun.

Another passion of the star of the Capital team is chess. Adelekun has a rating of 1670 on chess.com and compares basketball to “the sport of the mind”:

“I always liked the strategy part of chess, in basketball you analyze your opponent, you plan your next moves. As a basketball player, you can't immediately see what is going to happen, you have to think about how this action can cause a domino effect in the future of the match. Chess helps me work on this aspect. When I play chess I think about the move I will make in 5 more, in basketball I look at my opponent and think about how I can score against him, or how a block and a layup can put us on the board“, said the athlete.

“It's about competitive thinking, strategic thinking and the science of the game, knowing how to stay calm, how to not lose focus, how to think about the next move – that's the biggest thing – thinking about what to do next. Basketball is a sport that involves a lot of emotions, you have to be able to calm down, relax and think about what's the wisest decision you can make next, that's the best way through which you can approach absolutely everything in life”, concluded Adelekun.