Philadelphia 76ers third-year man Furkan Korkmaz has been on one wild ride in his NBA career. He traveled across the pond in 2017 to join the Sixers and pursue a career in the NBA, but after a rookie season where he played only 14 games and a second season that was not much better, he was going to go back to Turkey.
The Sixes had let it be known that they had declined his third-year option early in the 2018-19 season and he then asked for a trade. His trade request was not fulfilled and he stuck with the team before having a deal in place to return to Turkey over the summer.
Then, a series of events happened that led to Korkmaz’s return. The Sixers did not have many wing players after losing Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick early in free agency and then missing out on Kyle Korver and Korkmaz then returned on a 2-year deal.
“I don’t know that vindication is the word, but what I do know is that it is one hell of a story because he was ours and for a time, we weren’t too sure if that was going to continue on,” said coach Brett Brown. “Because he was ours for a period of time, long enough to know that he is a good person with high character, and he loves the game.”
Korkmaz is averaging a career-high 9.6 points and shooting 39.2% from deep. That’s not bad for a guy who was not even expected to be back in the NBA in 2019-20. For his sake, it did help that he played for Turkey in the FIBA World Cup over the summer and averaged 11.8 points and shot 38.9% from deep in the tournament.
“I think that his time overseas in the summer, playing for the Turkish national team where he was featured a lot, propelled him into coming back and really, putting his hand up quite quickly in preseason for us to pay attention,” Brown added.
He really finished up play before the All-Star break on a scorching hot level. He scored a career-high 34 points against the Memphis Grizzlies and then followed that up with 31 against the Chicago Bulls. He also made 13 of his 20 attempts from deep as he continues to grow in that “bomber” that Brown is looking for.
“This year I’m feeling more confidence on the court and with every game; [it] doesn’t matter if it’s a good shot or bad shot, I’m just ready and focused to make shots,” said the 22-year old shooting guard. “It’s about trying to help the team on the court. Every time I’m trying to put the team first and me second, but I’m glad [with] the last couple of weeks.”
The Sixers now must hope that Korkmaz can continue this type of shooting and give the team a spark when it’s needed. They return from the All-Star break on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. [lawrence-related id=26040,26033,26025]