Former Philadelphia 76ers sharpshooter Furkan Korkmaz said that Alperen Sengun is the best center he has played with over Joel Embiid.
Turkey outlasted Poland with a 91-77 victory, where the Turkey star Sengun hit a triple-double with 19 points, 12 boards, and 10 assists in a quarterfinals clash in the EuroBasket 2025.
“Until now, I thought Joel Embiid was the best center I’ve ever played with,” Korkmaz said during the post conference, per Eurohoops on X.
“But now I think we can say Alperen. It’s great to be around him — he truly enjoys playing basketball, and he helps us a lot on both offense and defense. Every day he tries to give his maximum. This year we also see him playing aggressive defense, not just offense, and that gives us security in the frontcourt when we’re applying pressure. I believe he still has more to work on, and I’m sure we’ll see even better basketball from him every year.”
Korkmaz was one of Joel Embiid’s longest-tenured teammates for almost two years before he departed from the franchise. The Sixers drafted him in 2016 with the 26th overall pick, where he spent seven years playing with Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, things went south for him as the Indiana Pacers waived his contract. He has ended 328 games for the Sixers with an average of 6.8 points, two boards, and 1.2 assists per game.
Speaking of the post conference, Turkey also secured a spot in the semifinals, earning a chance to compete for a medal for the first time since 2001, when they won silver.
“I was only four years old when we played the 2001 final, but I was proud of that team. First of all, I’m proud to be part of this team now. We have great character in the locker room, everyone works hard and fights on the court, and especially this year we have amazing chemistry. We always look back at that golden generation — it’s coming, it’s coming — but now I believe it’s our time. Every day when we step on the court, we show it. As you can see, we’re not just winning games, we’re enjoying the way we play basketball. I’m really proud of this team, and I hope we still have two more games to play and that we’ll continue to show our best basketball.”
Aside from attaining the only sixth triple-double in EuroBasket history, Sengun became the first Turkish player to record a triple-double at this tournament.
