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Hidayet Turkoglu, who is the president of the Turkish Basketball Federation and played 15 years in the NBA, will be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in Berlin on Tuesday. He is the first Turkish athlete to receive this honor.
FIBA announced in December that Turkoglu would join the 2026 Hall of Fame class. The honor recognizes his long career with the Turkish national team, Anadolu Efes, and six NBA teams, as well as his leadership of Turkish basketball since 2016.
Turkoglu, 47, represented the Turkish national team 309 times between 1994 and 2014, scoring 3,475 points and serving as captain for a significant portion of that span. He was part of the squads that claimed silver medals at the 2001 European Basketball Championship and the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
In the NBA, Turkoglu played 997 regular-season games, starting in 571, and appeared in 109 playoff games. He has the most NBA appearances of any Turkish player. In 2008, he was named the NBA's Most Improved Player while with the Orlando Magic. He was also the first Turkish player to start an NBA game and the only one to score over 10,000 career points in the league.
After retiring from playing, Turkoglu became president of the Turkish Basketball Federation in 2016 and has held the position for almost 10 years. FIBA’s recognition highlights his steady performance, leadership, and efforts to grow basketball in Türkiye.
The FIBA Hall of Fame was created to record the history of international basketball and honor people who have helped the game grow worldwide. It selects members based on their impact, long careers, and historical importance, not just their sporting achievements.
The induction ceremony will be held at Kraftwerk Berlin. Other players being honored include Dirk Nowitzki from Germany, Sue Bird from the U.S., Celine Dumerc from France, Clarisse Machanguana from Mozambique, Wang Zhizhi from China, and Ismenia Pauchard from Chile. Ludwik Mietta-Mikolajewicz from Poland will be honored as a coach.
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