Ömer Yurtseven
Yurtseven playing for NC State in 2018
No. 77 – Utah Jazz
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-06-19) June 19, 1998
Tashkent, Uzbekistan[1]
NationalityTurkish
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
College
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2016Fenerbahçe
2021Oklahoma City Blue
2021–2023Miami Heat
2023→Sioux Falls Skyforce
2023–presentUtah Jazz
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Finland U20 team
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Silver medal – second place 2015 Greece U18 team

Ömer Faruk Yurtseven (born June 19, 1998) is a Turkish professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the NC State Wolfpack and the Georgetown Hoyas. Listed at 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m) and 275 pounds (125 kg), he plays the center position.[2]

Early life and career

He was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan[3] to Turkish parents and played basketball in Turkey and for the Turkish youth national team. Yurtseven was selected to the Best Five of the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He was also invited to play at the Jordan Brand Classic International Game.[4]

On March 20, 2015, he made his EuroLeague debut, in a game against Emporio Armani Milano, scoring 2 points, in 1 minute and 4 seconds of playing time.[5]

On October 5, 2015, he played against the Brooklyn Nets, at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. He had 8 points and 7 rebounds, with one block, in 15 minutes and 18 seconds of playing time, in his team's win over the Nets.[6] He became the youngest player in history at the time to play in an NBA preseason game, at 17 years old.

During an under-18 youth age competition in Turkey, Yurtseven recorded a double-double, of 91 points (scoring more points than his entire competition), making 34 out of 49 shots (including five three-pointers), and grabbing 28 rebounds, in a 115–82 win over the youth club of Eylul Basketbol Ihtisas.[7][8]

On February 15, 2016, he left Fenerbahçe, in order to play college basketball, stating that he needed more playing time than he was receiving with Fenerbahçe.[9]

College career

On May 16, 2016 it was announced that Yurtseven would be playing college basketball at North Carolina State University.[10] However, due to his previous exposure with playing for Fenerbahçe, in some professional games, the NCAA decided to suspend him for the first nine games of their season (around 30% of the schedule), as well as require him to donate $1,000 to a charity of his choosing, in exchange for him to be fully eligible for playing time moving forward.[11] After fulfilling his suspension, he returned to the court on December 15, in a win against Appalachian State University. On March 14, 2017, Yurtseven would test out his stock for the 2017 NBA draft, leaving open the possibility that he would return to North Carolina State for his sophomore season. After trying out for the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, his father announced he'd be going back to North Carolina State for his sophomore year.

During his sophomore year he would improve his points per game average from 5.9 to 13.5. This significant increase gained him All-ACC Third Team honors. On March 21, 2018, Yurtseven would test out going pro once again for the 2018 NBA draft. However, even if he stayed in college, he confirmed that he would not return to North Carolina State and would instead request a transfer to a different university.[12]

On April 16, 2018, Yurtseven announced he would transfer to Georgetown. He became eligible to play for the Hoyas starting in the 2019–20 season with two years of eligibility remaining.[13] Yurtseven had 20 points in his debut for Georgetown, an 81–68 win over Mount St. Mary's.[14] He averaged 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game but missed seven games with an ankle injury.[15] On April 28, 2020, he announced that he was entering the 2020 NBA draft and was not returning to Georgetown.[16]

Professional career

Oklahoma City Blue (2021)

After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, Yurtseven signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 8, 2020.[17] He was waived next day.[18] On January 28, 2021, Yurtseven was included in roster of the Oklahoma City Blue, the NBA G League affiliate of the Thunder.[19]

Miami Heat (2021–2023)

On May 14, 2021, Yurtseven signed with the Miami Heat.[20] On August 1, he joined the Heat for the NBA Summer League[21] and five days later re-signed with the Heat.[22] On December 26, Yurtseven made his first career start, putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 93–83 win over the Orlando Magic.[23] On November 15, 2022, Yurtseven underwent surgery for an impingement, bone spur, and stress reaction in his left ankle.[24]

Yurtseven played in the 2023 NBA Finals, with the Heat being the second #8 seed in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals. The Heat lost the Finals in 5 games to the Denver Nuggets.

Utah Jazz (2023–present)

On July 17, 2023, Yurtseven signed with the Utah Jazz.[25]

National team career

Yurtseven was a member of the junior national teams of Turkey. With Turkey's junior national teams, he played at the 2013 FIBA Europe U16 Championship, and at the 2014 FIBA Europe U16 Championship, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team. He also played at the 2015 FIBA Europe U18 Championship, where he won a silver medal, and at the 2016 FIBA Europe U20 Championship, where he won a bronze medal, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He finished his career with Turkey's junior national teams at the 2017 FIBA Europe U20 Championship.[26]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Miami 561212.6.526.091.6235.3.9.3.45.3
2022–23 Miami 909.2.593.429.8332.6.2.2.24.4
Career 651212.1.533.222.6424.9.8.3.35.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 Miami 904.2.667.000.333.8.3.0.12.8
2023 Miami 802.0.286.000–.6.1.0.1.5
Career 1703.1.560.000.333.7.2.0.11.7

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 NC State 221418.9.457.333.7194.41.2.2.75.9
2017–18 NC State 332223.8.572.500.6136.7.5.51.813.5
2018–19 Georgetown Redshirt Redshirt
2019–20 Georgetown 262527.3.534.214.7539.81.2.51.515.5
Career 816123.6.539.426.6937.1.9.41.412.1

Personal life

Yurtseven is interested in playing chess and named Magnus Carlsen his favorite chess player.[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Omer Yurtseven – NBA G League
  2. ↑ Ömer Faruk Yurtseven Profile
  3. ↑ "Omer Yurtseven". NBA G League. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Ömer Faruk Yurtseven, "Jordan Brand Classic" Kampına Katıldı". tbf.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ FBUlker – EA7 match reports.
  6. ↑ Fenerbahce – NJN match reports.
  7. ↑ Goodman, Jeff and Borzello, Jeff (May 16, 2016). "NC State adds Turkish 7-footer Omer Yurtseven". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Five-star C Omer Yurtseven scores 91 points in U-18 game". May 15, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  9. ↑ Ömer Faruk Yurtseven: Fenerbahçe'den Ayrılma Kararı Aldım (in Turkish)
  10. ↑ N.C. State picked up Turkish 7-footer Omer Yurtseven:
  11. ↑ Giglio, Joe (October 31, 2016). "NC State's Omer Yurtseven cleared to play by NCAA, but must sit 9 games". Raleigh News and Observer. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  12. ↑ Batten, Sammy (March 21, 2018). "Center Omer Yurtseven leaving N.C. State". Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  13. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (April 16, 2018). "Omer Yurtseven transferring from NC State to Georgetown". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Georgetown defeats Mount St. Mary's 81–68". ESPN. Associated Press. November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ Wallace, Ava (March 29, 2020). "Georgetown's Mac McClung will enter NBA Draft, maintain eligibility". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  16. ↑ Djordjevic, Stefan (April 29, 2020). "Omer Yurtseven declared for the draft, won't return to Georgetown". EuroHoops. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ Mussatto, Joe (November 19, 2020). "OKC Thunder reportedly signs two undrafted free agents". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  18. ↑ Adams, Luke (December 9, 2020). "Thunder Sign, Waive Omer Yurtseven". hoopsrumors.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Oklahoma City Blue Announces 2020–21 Roster". oklahomacity.gleague.nba.com. January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  20. ↑ Beguiristain, Joe (May 14, 2021). "Ӧmer Yurtseven Signs With HEAT". NBA.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ Beguiristain, Joe (August 1, 2021). "2021 Miami HEAT Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  22. ↑ Herrera, Irene (August 6, 2021). "HEAT Re-Signs Ӧmer Yurtseven". NBA.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  23. ↑ Villa, Walter (December 26, 2021). "Undermanned Magic fall in Miami and drop to 7-27". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Ömer Yurtseven undergoes surgery". NBA.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Utah Jazz Sign Center Ömer Yurtseven". NBA.com. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  26. ↑ Omer YURTSEVEN (TUR).
  27. ↑ "Turkish star Yurtseven putting his opponents in check". fiba.basketball. July 3, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
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