Ömer Faruk Yurtseven (born 19 June 1998) is a Turkish professional

basketball 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 ...

player who last played for Panathinaikos of the

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

(GBL) and 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 ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

and the Georgetown Hoyas. Listed at and , he plays the center position.

Early life and career

He was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Uzbekistan to Turkish parents and played basketball in Turkey and for the Turkish youth national team. He was selected to the Best Five of the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship and was also invited to play at the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

International Game. On 20 March 2015, Yurtseven made his

debut, in a game against Emporio Armani Milano, scoring 2 points, in 1 minute and 4 seconds of playing time. On 5 October 2015, Yurtseven played against 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), ...

, at the

Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...

, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. 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. 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. On 15 February 2016, he left Fenerbahçe, in order to play

, stating that he needed more playing time than he was receiving with Fenerbahçe.

College career

On 16 May 2016 it was announced that Yurtseven would be playing

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. However, due to his previous exposure with playing for Fenerbahçe, in some

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

games, the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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. After fulfilling his suspension, he returned to the court on December 15, in a win against

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

. On 14 March 2017, Yurtseven would test out his stock for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, 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 21 March 2018, Yurtseven would test out going pro once again for the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

. 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. 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. Yurtseven had 20 points in his debut for Georgetown, an 81–68 win over Mount St. Mary's. He averaged 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game but missed seven games with an ankle injury. On 28 April 2020, he announced that he was entering the 2020 NBA draft and was not returning to Georgetown.

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 The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

on 8 December 2020. He was waived next day. On January 28, 2021, Yurtseven was included in roster of the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

, the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate of the Thunder.

Miami Heat (2021–2023)

On 14 May 2021, Yurtseven signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. On 1 August he joined the Heat for the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

and five days later re-signed with the Heat. On 26 December, Yurtseven made his first career start, putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 93–83 win over the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. On 15 November 2022, Yurtseven underwent surgery for an impingement, bone spur, and stress reaction in his left ankle. Yurtseven played in the

2023 NBA Finals The 2023 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2022–23 NBA season, 2022–23 season and conclusion to 2023 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Co ...

, with the Heat being the second #8 seed in NBA history to reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

. The Heat lost the Finals in 5 games to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

Utah Jazz (2023–2024)

On 17 July 2023, Yurtseven signed with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. However, he was waived on 1 July 2024.

Panathinaikos (2024–2025)

On 30 August 2024, Yurtseven signed a one-year deal with the reigning

and Greek League champions Panathinaikos.

National team career

Yurtseven was a member of the junior national teams of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. 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.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 56 , , 12 , , 12.6 , , .526 , , .091 , , .623 , , 5.3 , , .9 , , .3 , , .4 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .593 , , .429 , , .833 , , 2.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 48 , , 12 , , 11.4 , , .538 , , .208 , , .679 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .4 , , 4.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 24 , , 11.8 , , .535 , , .214 , , .653 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .2 , , .4 , , 5.0

Playoffs

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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, 9 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .667 , , .000 , , .333 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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, 8 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .286 , , .000 , , , , .6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , .5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .560 , , .000 , , .333 , , .7 , , .2 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", NC State , 22 , , 14 , , 18.9 , , .457 , , .333 , , .719 , , 4.4 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .7 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", NC State , 33 , , 22 , , 23.8 , , .572 , , .500 , , .613 , , 6.7 , , .5 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Georgetown , 26 , , 25 , , 27.3 , , .534 , , .214 , , .753 , , 9.8 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 15.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 81 , , 61 , , 23.6 , , .539 , , .426 , , .693 , , 7.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 12.1

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Fenerbahçe , 3 , , 0 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 8 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .417 , , .500 , , .0 , , .9 , , .0 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.6 , , .4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 31 , , 9 , , 14.3 , , .633 , , .400 , , .708 , , 4.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 8.4 , , 9.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 42 , , 9 , , 11.5 , , .621 , , .417 , , .708 , , 3.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 6.5 , , 7.1

Personal life

Yurtseven likes playing

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

and has named

Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...

as his favorite

chess player This list of chess players includes people who are primarily known as chess players and have an article on the English Wikipedia. A * Jacob Aagaard (Denmark, Scotland, born 1973) * Manuel Aaron (India, born 1935) * Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, bor ...

References

External links

NC State Wolfpack bio

Georgetown Hoyas bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yurtseven, Omer 1998 births Living people 21st-century Turkish sportsmen Centers (basketball) Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Miami Heat players NBA players from Turkey NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Oklahoma City Blue players Sportspeople from Tashkent Turkish expatriate basketball people in the United States Turkish men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players Utah Jazz players