The Sixers on Tuesday signed 2016 first-round pick Furkan Korkmaz to a contract.
A native of Turkey, the 19-year-old guard is known for his shot and his athleticism. Last season, Korkmaz was on loan from Anadolu Efes — where he was previously a teammate of Dario Saric — to Banvit to get more playing time.
"We are happy to have Furkan Korkmaz join us in Philadelphia this year where we feel he will be best positioned to develop physically and acclimate to the NBA game," Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. "Furkan is another talented young player that we are excited to have in our program."
Korkmaz spent a week in Philly getting to know the Sixers and their staff back in June. He stated his desire then to come over and play in the NBA as soon as possible.
“My dream is to be NBA player,” Korkmaz said on June 12 at the Sixers' training complex. “I am looking for that next year. Nobody knows yet what’s going to happen for the next season. We are talking about it and then we are going to decide in these couple weeks.”
Korkmaz won Best Young Player honors at the Basketball Champions League (BCL). He averaged 10.4 points (48.8 percent from three), 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in BCL play.
Korkmaz was drafted 26th overall as part of Colangelo's first draft class with the Sixers.