By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Furkan Korkmaz was providing the Philadelphia 76ers with a 3-point boost this season, averaging 39.7% on 317 attempts in 64 games prior to the NBA’s suspension. While the Turkish wing has been earning his keep mainly with his shooting, he wants to be identified as something more than that.
“I always say that. I don’t want to be called just a shooter. I think I can play with the ball and create,” Korkmaz said in an interview with Haberturk. “Apart from my scoring game, I think I can create many plays for my teammates. A slightly different type of basketball is played on the team. Other NBA teams play more pick n’ roll. We are playing more post up or we are playing 1-vs-1 game. Of course, all those add different things to my game. Since day 1 with Efes, I was told that as young players, we first have to take the open shot. Then try to not make any mistakes in defense. The roles start to change a little more as you improve. And when you do those little things, they start to give you more opportunities.”
Korkmaz, who joined the Sixers in 2017, also talked about his relationship with Joel Embiid.
“Embiid is a really nice, straight person. He fights on the court, he trash talks but really has good intentions. He tries to help everyone. I can say that he took me under his wings after I joined the team. JJ Redick had a play they played with Embiid last year. ‘I want to play it with Furkan this year,’ he [Embiid] said. We added it to the team. I feel that he actually took me under his wing in this kind of things. Apart from that, as I said, he’s a very well-intentioned person. We all look different characters on the court, but when we go off it, we put basketball aside and continue with our normal lives. We all have a different character on the court.”