TOM's Talks | An Interview With Furkan Korkmaz

the air. He good. He makes him at point four ago, the Sixers have tied in at ninety three. Corkmis grew up in Turkey and at fifteen years old started earning a paycheck to play basketball. He sits down to talk about that and more on Tom's Talks. Well, Furkon, thanks for doing this and welcome to what we call Tom's Talks my podcast. I'm sure it was nice to have a day off yesterday after a bit of a busy stretch to restart the season. Finitely, we got some recovery time.

As you said, nice off day. How would you assess or describe the season in general terms, a new coach, some new teammates, the restrictions, the testing, the discipline it takes to go through this season. How would you describe all that? I think I want to start from last year from Orlando, we said all new game. You know, I think this year was all new game for the Sixers, for the organization. We had like similar phases, similar players, but like I think overall we had a total different

culture this year. You know that came in. He changed a lot that Murray. You know, a lot of new people in the organization. I've been here for four years, but I've seen a lot of phases. I think overall this year is going well for us. I gotta be honest, like, I think we did a really good job until we lost against me what you were in the first seed. You know, things happened. Of course we're gonna lose some games. We can not in every game, every games, but overall

really good. I think we have a really good chemistry on the court of the court. We have a really good friendship in the team. And you can tell in the games too. You know, we are more connected, we have a better team, better fit. The fourth quarters have been really good and I know you lost that Milwaukee game, but you know when you go back to your the game in Portland, which feels like years ago, but you hit the game winning shot November two and twenty nineteen,

you hit the game time shot. The force over time has to feel good to ab in those positions and then b to be able to deliver for your team. It was a lot because for me, you know, because it was a similar position, and at the end of the day, we couldn't really celebrate it. You know, when I go back home, I was a little bit like my heartbart broken because we couldn't celebrate it. I made the tree, but at the end of the day, we lost the game. But I think overall, Mewike is really

good team. I think for ourself, we did a really good job keeping them off the glass. We take everything away from them and that second health and they just get into rhythm. We couldn't stop them, and then we couldn't show our chem city for the second health. But of course end of today we played that second health. But if we had a chance to win the game, I think that makes us a good team. You know, we knew that we got a chance, and then we could win it. I think this is the possible part.

But you were able to celebrate after that game winning shot in Portland. Like I said, it was early in the season, a year ago. It was November second, and you make the game winning shot, your teammates surround you. What was that feeling? Like that was one of the memories. I felt like, Okay, now I'm part of part of this league. You know, because when I was growing up, I was of course thinking about like scoring twenty points,

thirty points in a game. But there's not a better moment than winning the game, you know, making the game meaning shots. That was all my dream. I was dreaming about it. And then that feels just like different. I know it was the Summer League, but you had that forty point game against Boston in twenty eighteen, the first Summer League game, and it was one of the best performances ever scoring wise out there, and you scored in a variety of ways. I mean, sometimes people think you're

just to catch and shoot. Guy, did that help? I know it was rookie, I mean Summer League, But did that helped establish your confidence to go in the NBA and score like that? Yeah? Definitely, Because Smer League is kind of getting ready for the league. Everybody's watching you old EISO or you know, when the teams they scut you.

They know everything what you can do, but sometimes you do the things which they don't expect you to do, and then that makes you look different, That makes you makes different on the court, that game of force confidence. During the summers, I'm playing with the national team. That's also helped me getting the rhythm, get in the shape before the season starts. So I think those summer leagues and national teams was hug part of me getting in this process. And then your best back to back games

were last year. He had thirty four career high against Memphis and thirty one against Chicago. To do it back to back had to be pretty good as well, right, Yeah, definitely, I can. I can say that I was feeling really good. I was feeling it and we were winning. You know, if we were rolling on that time, that also makes it more valuable for you because sometimes you score, you celebrated your own, but you don't in the game. You know, that's kind of tricky, But when you play good when

your team winning, it's it's totally different. Fun. Let's go back a little bit you grew up in Turkey and you start playing basketball when you're like nine years old, But when you're fifteen and br us in America explain it's like, you know, you joined the FI program and you become a player, but you're with your their youth and junior team. And the number associated with that was two hundred and fifty thousand. So do you start getting paid when you're fifteen years old even though you're on

a junior team. I was getting paid. I was also surprised because when I was playing as a kid, I was not thinking about the like professional contracts, those moneys. You know, money was not even like subject for us. And then my agent. I met with the agent, his name is Attila, and then he said, is offering you this money? You know? And I was like, fifteen, and you can go play for the same or team you can get paid. But my team was like I was

playing for fun. I was not really thinking about professional From that point on, I was like, Okay, I'm gonna make money from this job, you know. I started looking at his job, and then the life was all different for me because in the same time, you gotta deal with the school, you know, you gotta go to college, do this whole stuff. The European system was a little different than here because it's hard to handle college and professional life, I would say, and that's how the story goes.

What was life like in Turkey growing up until, like, for example, to fifteen years old? What your parents do? What was your town like? What was like like my parents? My mom was Hope's wife all the time. After she got married, she stopped working. But my dad, I remember him. He was like waking up at like five thirty six am in the morning. He was coming back home like eleven pm and then three or four hours sleep again, go back to work. You know, he was like really

working hard. I really appreciate him. When I was growing up, I see that his hard work and then makes me more. I appreciated what I got right now. And after I started playing basketball like a professionally, you know, after I get a contract, life a little change because everybody was all my kids, all my friends on the streets. Those kids they were playing on the street, you know, they were playing soccer. But I need to come back home, I need to rest, you know again, wake up in

the morning. Practice. I was not like visiting my family friends anymore, you know, not playing those games anymore because I gotta take care of my body. I gotta be professional, you know, I gotta do practice three hours, five hours, eight hours whatever, go to school. At the same time, I had more responsibility when I was fifteen than dollars kids, So I was amadable. You're six seven. Where do you think you got your height from? I mean, I'm still trying to figure it out. You know, I don't know

yet too. But my dad is not that tall. He's told, but not that tall. My mom is also, she's like a little bit maybe over average. But I don't have

like short family, but not like tall family. Too. Worked out for you, right, So you mentioned, you know, playing when you were fifteen, So then one of the big things was playing like the Euro the FIBA euro tournaments, the U eighteens, and you won the gold in fourteen and fifteen you come back and get a silver and we can talk about the international competitions with the Turkish

national team. But just this young player to play with the best people in your country and compete across Europe in those tournaments and then to win it that one year, what was that like? I think the national team gives you a lot, you know, I think teaches you more competition, how to be competitive, you know, because in the national team level, every team is good, Like doesn't matter who you have on the team. Every team is competing, every

team is representing their country. So the competition is more valuable. And it's also a kind of a little bit show business tips because you are representing yourself too. All the scouting scouts are watching. And I remember one summer I played for the three different national teams, like saying, your team under nineteen, under twenty whatever, like three different championships, and then that helps me a lot to get experience more, to learn again more and then make my name more,

you know, and also I represent my country. I was like one of the maybe like this guy to play like three different categories. So then when you start playing with EPs, you know, with the big guys, and you make that transition, you're one of the best young players. You were voting the best young player. What was that transition like where now you are playing with men and you're playing professional basketball. All that time when I was playing for the FS, I didn't think I'm gonna have

enough enough chance, enough opportunity with the FS. Then I told I got to make some decisions. You know, I got a site to phrase something. And then I told my agent, like I need to play. I gotta go somewhere else, you know, to play, because I knew that I'm not gonna play that anymore, just like three or five minutes. Sometimes that's not gonna be enough for me too, if I want to make an NBA. And then we decided to go to bomb it, and then the trade happened.

I went to bombit and I got my maybe career year. You know that four or five months makes me different players. I grow up more. I learned the game more because as a young player, you are playing. Yes, you are playing the game, but you don't know the game. It's differently they play and you know the game. Right now, when I have the ball, I feel like I have ten seconds to decide, you know, But when you when you are as a kid, you feel like I just

once to decide. I think that's the experience comes in. You were drafted in twenty sixteen by the Sixers with the twenty sixth pick, but you opted to stay. What was that decision like to stay in Europe? And then also when you made the decision to come to Philadelphia and start your NBA career. To be honest, the reason that I stayed I didn't feel ready to come into NBA. You know, on the court, off the court, I just

didn't feel ready. I don't think my body was ready to even like when I got the NBA, my body was still not ready. I knew that. But here things that are going quickly. You have a lot of time individually for the workouts. You know, you can improve yourself more. That was one of the reasons that I came the following year. I came here the following year because I thought, here three or four months, it is going to be really good enough for me to get my body right,

you know, to get used to the league. You know. Injuries happened, everything happened. I got a little bad luck. But at the end of today, I think everything worked out when you came here. Any and now, have you found a community or a group of friends that has allowed you to have a life outside basketball When you're away from the court and training, you're in Turks community or any kind of community, friends your age people in Philadelphia. Anytime I met a couple of Turks guys, you know

I met also like good neighborhoods. You know, I got good neighbors. Like doesn't matter what time or what do you lieve you are, you are making friends. If you are good people, you are making friends. And I think I'm a good people. You know, I find right people, and I think I'm good at that picking up those good friends. Because sometimes but here a lot of people around you, that doesn't mean you are really good people, you know. I think that's the decision sometimes you're gonna make.

Also as athletes, because our life is our time is important too. You know you're gonna spend your time. You gotta take every buddy. You gotta find their balance. I think I find it really well now. I know it's a little different now with the pandemic, but getting out and about in Philadelphia. But do you get recognized when you're on the streets to Philadelphia? Yeah, I do. I do. I do. Like you're a fan favorite a little bit, right,

Do you feel that vibe? I mean I feel that after my first two years, it was a little different scenario. But the last two years, yeah, it's totally different. Makes you feel good, right, Yeah, it makes me feel good of course, you know. I like it. Fans you are really special. I mean, even though it's not full capacity. The other night we saw the Gamut. They were in love and then all of a sudden Das sits on the court and boom, they were all over that. I mean,

they don't miss a beat here in Philadelphia do that. Yeah. The point that I recognize is Philip fans are bad. When you start missing a couple of shots over, when you play bad the offense, they start booing here you know, then okay, here they come. You know, right now you're sad. I mean not that you're sensitive, but like you say, you're out there and if you're feeling them, definitely that makes it gives us a lot of energy. Yeah, yeah,

definitely are feeling them. There really is like supporting. Here's like city of support, city of brother in love, you know, city of competition. So if they want to see the competition, they want to see that blood on the court, you know, right. Speaking of support, Ben Simmons, your teammate was very supportive and endorsing you, saying that you could play or you know, one on one unstoppable, even better than Novitsky. That must have made you feel good. Yeah, definitely you're not buying that.

I mean, you know you know how folks Dirk Novisky, but you have that, like what That's one of the things I like about your game, like you you do. You have the little floaters. You've really worked on that that bring different aspects to your offensive repertoire, if you

will talk about that. Yeah, sometimes when people knows what you can do, you gotta do something different because after a couple of games, even like us, let me scot somebody if you know, like his Kitchen Should, he shows doable off to balance whatever, So they're taking those away, you know, the defference are working on it, and then you're gonna find some solutions to create something for yourself

because sometimes the game is not coming to you. Gotta go get it, and sometimes the game is just finding you. And I'm trying to find like my rhythm of my midrange, my flotters. Again, I know, I think I'm really good like it Kitchen Should. But I'm trying to do some pi can all stuff this year, especially with the second unit. You know me and Shake, we're handling the ball more than last year. I think there's biggest difference for me

this year speaking of shake and the second unit. During this recent sixth game winning streak, you guys were just so good and a lot that. I mean, the fortunes of the team may reflect on how well you guys are able to continue to score. And I know it's pressure, but that is pressure. Pressure is part of the NBA. Talk about that and how well you guys have been able to produce up late off the bench. Yeah, there's pressure on every game. Like you said, there's pressure the

game of pressure, you know an NBA. And with the seconde, I'm saying this every time we have a really good potential, Like defensively we can't be a really good too. I don't think people knows that enough. But defensively we can be really good too, because why this big part of

matiz is a really big part of defense. I think it's really helpful in offense the same way, like if you can play like less five six games, the same way, if you can keep it up, I think we gotta be really dangerous for the teams because you know, if you know our first year that they're gonna do that at a job. Sometimes when they're down, we're gonna pick them up. Sometimes when we are down, they gotta pick up us. So it's like a little bit weird, but

I think overall we have like really good fit. I want to go back to that thing about pressure a little bit, because I don't think sometimes the average fan realizes what it's like to be a professional player. They see the salaries, they see you private jets, traveling around the country and in your case, around the world. But it's from your coach, it's from your teammates, it's from I mean, the pressure to execute and produce comes from all sides. The fans speak to that a little bit.

How you deal with it, I will say this, it's a little bit changing from team to teams because we are playing for the championship, Like there is no better pressure than this. You know, every game is so important for us. Every position as matters, like we see as we saw last night. You know two nights ago we lost the game by like two or three points. You know, every position matters. Just one free to row, one tags doctor, which he's saying this every time, like positions matter, it's

going to come and hunt you. And that happens in the NBA every game. Every positions matter. So let's bring the pressure because you know, you've got to do the right decision on the positions because it's not the end of the game. It's going to come and hunt you. And I think overall people when they're looking from outside, we travel. Like you said, you know, we have been living in the good hotel. But in the same time, you've got to take care of your buddy. You gotta recover.

You cannot go eat every time. You know, you gotta rest, you're gonna sleep. You need to be professional. You gotta be good in the team. You know, when you play bad, over when you play good, you cannot really change because another day is coming, another game is coming. So it's a lot of pressure too. With that in mind, you guys are going to begin a stretch starting over the weekend as we speak. You know, you play at home and then you go to New York and then you're

gonna be out west for that entire week. You're gonna come back. Actually, you have a game in Cleveland at the end of a West coast trip which I've only seen once where you have another game tacked on. But you come home, you play Memphis, and then you go to Boston, New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma. It's a stretch, if I'm not mistaken. That's like twenty of twenty three days away, and I know you got to take it one game at a time, but you really have to get yourself

geared up and ready mentally, physically everything. You just spoke about taking care of your body and all that. That's quite a stretched coming up if you thought about that going forward a little bit. Yeah, like you said, for example, playing in the West Coast is a different game, So you've gotta be focused because I think in West Coast game is more faster than you expect. I think in East Coast like games a little bit more slower. But

in West Coast everybody's like pushing the ball. You know, they're trying to play hard, and you just gotta go and get the game like that's it. You just gotta go out there and then let them know that we are here to win all these games. You're not letting we are not getting an off days here. If we are not here for vacations, you're just we're not here for a good better you know, we are just here

for the win the game. And when you come back to the East Coast again again, it's gonna be the same mentality, same goal for us, and it's gonna be more and more important because every game is gonna be metal at the end of the game and at the end of the day. Because playoff is on the door already, so it's gonna be so quick. And then when we close and close our eyes and you open it, you gotta say, Okay, here's the first game of playoffs. Let's go.

We gotta play. So it's gonna be so quick. Last thought, but what do you do? I'm sure you have to do communicate with the watsapp or back home, and what do you do during your downtime, Like do you play video games? Do you read? How do you occupy your time? And how do you stay in touch with your friends and family back home? In Turkey, I'm trying to do a little bit of meditation, you know, just to be calm,

just to take that stress away a little bit. I'm trying to read, I'm trying to watch some TVs, TV shows, some movies. It's hard to communicate with Turkeys sometimes because what I would we do during today when I go back home, like three four pm, it's almost like tem pm eleven pm in Turkey. Everybody's like about to sleep, like you want to talk to them about something like they don't want to talk to you. You know, you're not fun for them anymore because they're already in the

sleeping mood. But I'm trying to be like calling my family and friends. It's like heads up, just to have like different conversation because being into basketball every time, every second, you want to hear something else different than basketball, to take it away. And what about March madness? Do you get into the college basketball the tournament that's going on

right now. I mean, of course I will follow. I'm gonna try to watch a little bit of games, but I don't know what's the what's the march medis gonna look like to see because like for them will say this whole new game, you know. And what about double last thing? What about the camaraderie of being with the team and you guys joking around. You're together on the bus, on the plane, in the locker room, on the court.

That bond, that that thats been created just by being together and rooting for one another, playing for one another. Talk about that chemistry a little bit. I think we have really good people in the organization, from players to the front office, like what I would. I think everybody's good, everybody's positive, but sometimes positiveness it doesn't bring you the success. You know, sometimes you've got to talk about negative things too,

because life is not good every time. On the court of the court, and I think this year we are doing that, Like we are talking a lot, we are sharing a lot, we are laughing together, and we are and we are winning, you know. And as long as you play good and better on the court and together on the court, I think you're a better friend of the court too. It's like it affects and I think the light is really good, you know, to making team better. He's like, I think, leading the team like off the

court and on the court too. He's communicating like he's talking a lot, Danny Tobias, those guys are doing their things. I think we have all good People's great for God, Thank you so much. We wish you the best. We really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me. If you like what you're hearing, consider subscribing to the seventy six years podcast network fee or giving us a follow wherever you get your pods, and if that happens to be on Apple podcast, we'd love for you to give us

a rating. I'm Tom McGinnis. Talk to you down the road. H