Ergin Ataman’s 15-year-old son joins EuroBasket team

Aug 27, 2025 2:05 AM

Turkiye is gearing up for a fierce EuroBasket 2025 campaign in Riga, kicking off against the host nation, Latvia.

Head coach Ergin Ataman, famed for his unshakable confidence, says his squad is ready – but he also unveiled a surprising twist in the team setup: his 15-year-old son, Sarp.

During the introductory press conference, Ataman spoke openly about Sarp’s unusual role.

“Of course, he’s not officially the coach because he is only 15 years old,” Ataman clarified.

“But he spent all the preparation period with us. He’s making scouting, he’s helping the team. And he knows basketball very well. So he helps me, he helps the players. We can say that he’s a voluntary assistant coach.”

While Turkiye’s hopes rest on stars like Cedi Osman and Alperen Sengun, the presence of Sarp – a teenager contributing to scouting and gaining the respect of professional players – adds a uniquely personal layer to this tournament. As his father summarized,

“He helps me, he helps the players. He’s part of the team.”

When asked whether Sarp might be “hired away” after the tournament, Ataman laughed:

“We’ll see, maybe,” he said with a grin.

Confidence in Turkiye’s chemistry

Ataman also emphasized how quickly his mix of NBA and EuroLeague players has bonded into a cohesive unit.

“Very easy for me,” he said when questioned about merging athletes from different backgrounds.

“I have the experience – more than 25 years coaching in Europe at the top level. We had enough time in preparation, one month. And now the team chemistry, it’s okay. We didn’t have any difficulties. When you have players like I have now in this roster, it’s easier to put the chemistry together.”

Looking ahead, Ataman recognizes that opening against Latvia will be a challenge, but he stressed it is just the first step of a broader campaign:

“To win or lose the first game, nothing changes. It will be important to finish the group in the first three positions for us. That is our main goal in this first stage.”

Cedi Osman: “We are built for this moment”

Veteran wing Cedi Osman echoed his coach’s confidence, praising the squad’s preparation and mindset.

“I think this is one of the best tournaments ever,” Osman said. “Every team has come with their best roster. Starting with Latvia, obviously it’s going to be a tough game. But I think that we had a good period of working for almost a month, a month and a half. Everybody is ready and really focused.”

He added,

“We believe that we have a great roster and that we were built for this moment. We’re focused to go game by game and we’ll see how far we can go.”

Facing a challenging group that includes Serbia, Osman admitted the path will be demanding:

“Definitely, yes, this is one of the toughest groups. You have the home court team, you have Serbia, obviously Czech Republic, then Estonia and Portugal who are climbing up every year. But in the end, we are here to win every game.”