Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz trying to move on after off-court EuroBasket altercation
Korkmaz says he was attacked by Georgian players and police as he attempted to go to the locker room following Turkey's loss on Sunday.
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Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz is moving on.
Playing for his native Turkey at EuroBasket 2022, his team captured a 78-63 win over Belgium two days after he was involved in a fight following Sunday’s game against Georgia at the Tbilisi Sports Palace in Georgia.
Korkmaz, who later detailed the altercation, was allegedly attacked by multiple Georgia players and local police. For now, however, he is letting FIBA’s investigation into the matter take place and proceeding with hopes that his team will rally around the unfortunate situation.
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“This kind of situation brings the team closer more than ever,” Korkmaz said, according to eurohoops.net. “As we witnessed today, since the preparation games, this was the game in which our squad clamped together the most. We forged a wall from the beginning of the game in defense, which led us to victory.”
Korkmaz, who is entering his sixth year with the Sixers, struggled a bit during the 2021-22 season. Expected to make a jump and serve as a consistent shooting threat after signing a three-year, $15 million deal, Korkmaz was inconsistent behind the three-point line (29%) and ultimately fell out of favor with the coaching staff.
But he appears to have put those struggles behind him for now. Korkmaz, 25, has performed well for Turkey and is ranked as the 76th best player (so far) in EuroBasket by hoopshype.com. He’s averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists over four games.
Korkmaz and Turkey are next in action on Saturday when they take on France in a Round-of-16 elimination game.