İsmet Akpınar ( tr, İsmet Akpınar, born May 22, 1995) is a Turkish-German professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague.

Early years

Akpınar started his career in the BC Hamburg youth ranks. At the age of 16, he made his professional debut with SC Rist Wedel in the ProB, the third tier of German basketball, earning ''

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

'' All-German ProB Rookie of the Year honors following the 2011–12 season. At the same time, he excelled at the youth level playing for Piraten Hamburg and was named JBBL (under-16 Bundesliga) Player of the Year in 2011 as well as NBBL (under-19 Bundesliga) Rookie of the Year the following season.

Professional career

In February 2013, Akpınar agreed on a four-year deal with Bundesliga side

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

. In the 2016-17 season, he received the BBL Best German Young Player Award. On June 7, 2017, he signed with ratiopharm Ulm. In the 2017–18 season, he was invited for the BBL All-Star Game for the first time in his career. On July 30, 2019, he has signed contract with Beşiktaş Sompo Japan of the Basketbol Süper Ligi. On May 25, 2020, he has signed with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL). On July 11, 2020, he has signed with Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). On June 18, 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague.

National team

20171127 FIBA WCQ 2019 AUT-GER İsmet Akpınar 850 7293

Akpınar has represented the German Junior National Teams on many occasions. In August 2010, he played in the North Sea Development Basketball Cup, guiding the German under-15 squad to a second-place finish. He was part of the German U16 National Team, competing in the 2011 under-16 European Championships, and was selected to play for Germany's U18 team at the 2012 Albert-Schweitzer-Tournament as well as at the 2012 and 2013 under-18 European Championships. In 2014 and 2015, he played for his country in the under-20 European Championships. In the summer of 2017, he was capped for the first time for Germany's men's national team.

Personal life

He is younger brother of the Turkish player

Mutlu Akpınar Mutlu, meaning "happy", is a Turkish given name and surname and may refer to: Given name * Mutlu Dervişoğlu (born 1977), Turkish footballer * Mutlu Onaral, American singer of Turkish descent * Mutlu Topçu (born 1970), Turkish footballer Surname ...

References

External links

EuroCup ProfileGerman BBL ProfileEurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akpinar, Ismet 1995 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Alba Berlin players Bahçeşehir Koleji S.K. players Beşiktaş men's basketball players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players German men's basketball players German people of Turkish descent Point guards Ratiopharm Ulm players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Hamburg