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Real Madrid has signed Turkish national team center Omer Faruk Yurtseven on a contract running through June 30, 2026, the Spanish club announced Friday, adding frontcourt depth as it pushes through the ACB league playoffs.
The 27-year-old, 7-foot center joins one of European basketball's most storied programs after a transatlantic journey that has taken him through multiple NBA rosters and a stint in Greece. The signing comes in response to injury disruptions in Real Madrid's center rotation, with both Eddie Tavares and Alex Len having been ruled out for the season.
Yurtseven will be available exclusively for ACB Liga Endesa competition. Because EuroLeague registration windows have closed, he is ineligible to appear in the competition's Final Four, leaving his contribution confined to domestic play for the remainder of the season.
He arrives at Real Madrid after spending the early part of the 2025-26 season with Panathinaikos, where he won two Greek Cup titles during his time in Athens. He later returned to the NBA, appearing in nine games for the Golden State Warriors, most recently suiting up for the team in April.
During his Warriors stint, he averaged 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists in roughly 12 minutes per game, with a standout final outing against the San Antonio Spurs that produced 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
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Before his move to Europe with Panathinaikos, Yurtseven had carved out an NBA path as an undrafted center who earned his place through consistent interior play. He spent time with the Miami Heat from 2021 to 2023, then moved to the Utah Jazz for the 2023-24 season, before eventually returning stateside with Golden State this year.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Yurtseven played college basketball in the United States at NC State and Georgetown before going undrafted in 2020. He made his professional debut in Europe with Fenerbahce as a teenager, becoming at 17 one of the youngest players ever to appear in an NBA preseason game.
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