Now that Dario Saric is stateside and Furkan Aldemir is completely out of the picture, there’s only one name for Sixers fans to monitor overseas: gangly guard Furkan Korkmaz.
The 19-year-old Korkmaz was selected by the Sixers with the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but opted to stay with Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes for at least one more season.
Efes kicked off the Turkish Basketball Super League season with a 97-65 win over Istanbul BBSK, and Korkmaz played a key role off the bench. In just 15 minutes of action, the Istanbul native scored 10 points (4-8 FG, 1-4 3PT) and added two steals.
#sixers rights-held player Furkan Korkmaz looked good last night. Got out in transition, cut off ball, hit corner 3. 10 pts (4-8) in 15 min.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 10, 2016
Video of Efes’s first victory was hard to track down, but we did find a clip of Korkmaz’s only made three-pointer.
Furkan Korkmaz #BSL pic.twitter.com/zNWUALQJnX
— Fast Break (@FastBreakTR) October 9, 2016
That’s a pretty impressive catch-and-shoot bucket for the teenager with a hand in his face.
Along with his outside shooting, his impact as an on-ball defender may be something to monitor as Korkmaz’s season progresses. In a game against Fenerbahce last week for the President’s Cup, Korkmaz stripped top international guard Kostas Sloukas, and turned it into a dunk for his only points of the game.
.@FurkanKorkmazFK topu çalıp smacı vurdu, Obradovic'e hemen molayı aldırdı pic.twitter.com/M2qJ8a8goS
— Hızlı Hücum (@hizlihucum) October 5, 2016
Not a bad start for Philadelphia’s newest European talent.
Efes will kick off their EuroLeague season against Spanish club Laboral Kutxa on Friday, then turn around for a Turkish league match the following day.