İlkan Karaman (May 13, 1990 – September 8, 2024) was a Turkish professional basketball player.

Professional career

Karaman made his professional debut in the TB2L with Tofaş Bursa during the 2007–08 season. He signed a contract with

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

after playing four years for Tofaş Bursa. On August 17, 2012, Karaman signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe. In the 2012–13 season Karaman played in 29 games for Fenerbahçe in the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

and 22 games in the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. In the 2013 off-season he underwent

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

surgery on both knees to relieve chronic

patellar tendinitis Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the ...

, which prevented him from playing the following season.Brooklyn Nets other "Euro-Stash" talks about his dream of playing in the NBA, his injury
from ''Netsdaily'', December 8, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2014. On July 1, 2014, he parted ways with Fenerbahçe. On October 14, 2015, Karaman signed with Acıbadem Üniversitesi of the

Turkish Basketball Second League The Turkish Basketball Second League, also called TB2L, is Turkish basketball league system, the third-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously called the Turkish Basketball Third League (TB3L). For ...

. On September 1, 2016, he signed with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

for the 2016–17 season. On July 12, 2017, Karaman signed with İstanbul BB. He left Istanbul after appearing in eight league games. On January 16, 2018, he signed with

Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece, historically Athyras (Greek: Αθύρας) is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 173 km2, and its population is 277,181 (2022). It is on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west o ...

. On November 14, 2019, he signed with Cholet of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

. On October 20, 2020, he signed with Antibes Sharks of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

. On January 20, 2021, he signed with Petkim Spor of the Turkish

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. On September 30, 2021, he signed with Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish

. On June 25, 2022, Karaman signed with

Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL) and returned to the club after 11 seasons. On December 23, 2022, he signed with Manisa BB of the Turkish BSL. On January 20, 2023, he signed with Formosa Taishin Dreamers of the Taiwanese P. League+ (PLG). On October 27, 2023, Karaman signed with Çayırova Belediyesi of the TBL.

NBA

Karaman was selected by the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

with the 57th pick of the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

. He became officially the first player drafted by the Nets after their move to Brooklyn (the team acquired two higher picks in exchange for cash after they were selected by other teams). After the draft Nets general manager Billy King stated that the team intended for Karaman to develop his skills while continuing to play in Europe. This process (often referred to as "Euro-stashing") allowed the Nets to retain Karaman's NBA rights without offering him a contract. On July 10, 2014, Karaman's rights were traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. On November 18, 2020, Karaman's draft rights were traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, in exchange for a 2025 second-round draft pick.

Turkish national team

Karaman was a regular Turkish youth national team player. He also played for Turkish national team in the EuroBasket 2013 qualification.

Death

Karaman died on September 8, 2024, in

Datça Datça is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 436 km2, and its population is 25,029 (2022). The town center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the distri ...

after he was hit by a car driven by a drunk driver. Karaman was 34. Two days later, he was buried in

Kapaklı Kapaklı () is a municipality and district of Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its area is 182 km2, and its population is 137,514 (2022). The district and municipality Kapaklı was created at the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation from p ...

Tekirdağ Tekirdağ () is a city in northwestern Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. The city forms the urban part of the Süleymanpaşa district, with a population of 186,421 in 2022. Tekirdağ ...

References

External links

*
TBLStat.net Profile

Euroleague.net Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaman, Ilkan 1990 births 2024 deaths Basketball players from Istanbul Beşiktaş men's basketball players Brooklyn Nets draft picks Büyükçekmece Basketbol players Cholet Basket players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Formosa Dreamers players İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor basketball players Karşıyaka basketball players Olympique Antibes basketball players P. League+ imports Pedestrian road incident deaths Petkim Spor players Power forwards Road incident deaths in Turkey Tofaş S.K. players Turkish expatriate basketball people in France Turkish expatriate basketball people in Taiwan Turkish men's basketball players Yalovaspor BK players 21st-century Turkish sportsmen Çayırova Belediyesi players