Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) President Hidayet Türkoğlu said that he believes that the league planned to be established jointly by the NBA and FIBA will add value to European basketball.
President Türkoğlu made statements about the NBA Europe project, the organization of the NBA match in Istanbul, the performance of Turkish representatives in the European cups this season, the call of Malachi Flynn to the candidate squad of the National Men’s Basketball Team and the national teams.
Hidayet Türkoğlu, who supports the league that the NBA and FIBA plan to establish jointly in Europe, said, “It is obvious that the NBA will add value when it joins somewhere. The global brand, value, organization volume and economic power of the NBA will definitely be reflected here. The NBA has a good relationship with FIBA. I hope they will be involved with a formula that will add more value to European basketball. Otherwise, a very complicated process may be waiting for us. Even now, there are four organizations. The arrival of another organization will be complicated.” “The goal here is to bring European basketball to a better place. The NBA is the biggest organization in the world right now. I believe they will add value to European basketball when they come here.” he said.
“EUROPEAN LEAGUE HAS NO INCOME-GENERATING CONTRIBUTION”
President Türkoğlu stated that the EuroLeague does not contribute to the clubs in generating income.
Reminding that he has been criticizing the Europa League, which has had many disagreements with FIBA, especially the match calendar, for many years, Türkoğlu said:
“The Europa League is special because the clubs within it are valuable. The meeting of Fenerbahçe Beko, Anadolu Efes and other world brand clubs in another organization will also add value to that organization. The Europa League does not contribute to generating income. Clubs are complaining every day and they are trying to move in a different direction. They are making agreements with Abu Dhabi. They are trying to somehow generate money from there in order to increase the brand value. Here, if the NBA presents a good economic picture, Europe Our clubs in the league will also be a little more positive about the NBA Europe project. You say ‘We are the best organization in Europe’ but this is something that only 13 A licensed teams win. It still surprises me from time to time that they see themselves as the best organization. If the NBA comes with a formula that will support our clubs in Europe economically, I think they will take the lead there.
“WE ARE THINKING OF BRINGING THE NBA MATCH TO OUR COUNTRY”
Hidayet Türkoğlu stated that they want to host the NBA match in the coming years.
Emphasizing that he met with NBA officials during the match played between Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin, the capital of Germany, in January, Türkoğlu said, “Hopefully, we are thinking of bringing an NBA match to our country (Istanbul) in the coming years, as it was held in Berlin and London. We also talked about pre-season camps in terms of hosting NBA teams in this facility (Turkcell Basketball Development Center). Before going to the FIBA 2027 World Cup, we have a few initiatives such as holding a camp here with the USA or bilateral contact preparation matches.” “The NBA’s European representative will come to Istanbul in the coming days. We will meet with him again. I hope we will reach the point where we will have more frequent meetings with the NBA and organize joint events.” made his assessment.
“Hopefully, our progress in 2025 will continue in 2026”
TBF President Türkoğlu noted that the successful performance of Turkish teams in the European cups this season is very valuable.
Stating that Türkiye is “the country represented by the highest number of teams” in European cups, Türkoğlu said, “Almost 16-17 of our teams proudly represent us in Europe. The success achieved by each of our clubs and the matches they win are very valuable to us. Fenerbahçe Beko continues its performance in the EuroLeague last season. Galatasaray played in the final in the Basketball Champions League last season. Beşiktaş, Bahçeşehir Koleji and Türk Telekom are very good in the BKT European Cup.” In women, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and ÇBK Mersin represent our country in the best way. It would be very meaningful and valuable for our country to win more than one cup this season. After all, we all want our country to be represented in the best way in Europe. Under our management, our country has won many valuable trophies. In this sense, we feel lucky with the success achieved by our clubs. “Our progress in 2025 will continue in 2026 and the success we want in terms of national teams and clubs will come to our country.” he said.
CALLING MALACHI FLYNN TO THE CANDIDATE CAST
Hidayet Türkoğlu stated that Malachi Flynn, who received Turkish citizenship, performed very well and that he believed that he would do his best if he wore the crescent and star jersey.
Speaking about the invitation of Bahçeşehir College’s 27-year-old American basketball player to the candidate squad of the National Team before the Serbia matches, President Türkoğlu made the following evaluation:
“Malachi Flynn is performing very well in the Turkish Insurance Basketball Super League. We had unlucky times at the point guard position from time to time. Kenan Sipahi had a minor operation. Due to the injuries of Larkin and Wilbekin during the season, our coach and the team decided in this direction. Hopefully we will get the best out of these friends. Everyone we have called since Bobby Dixon has done their best for the national team. Tarık Biberovic was also a part of our team in the last matches. He is now part of our family. “He also showed an incredible performance. I hope this friend of ours (Flynn) will do his best for the national team if he gets the chance.”
“HOPE WE WILL CONTINUE OUR OPENING WITH A GOOD PERFORMANCE”
Türkoğlu stated that he thinks that the National Men’s Basketball Team, which is the last European runner-up, will continue its rise by performing well in the matches against Serbia.
Referring to the competitions of the Crescent-Stars against Serbia in the FIBA 2027 World Cup Qualifiers on February 27 and March 2, President Türkoğlu continued as follows:
“In the last 7-8 years, our men’s and women’s teams have either become champions or played in the finals in international organizations. This is the success that Turkish basketball and our clubs have achieved as a result of the right investments. 2025 has been successful in Turkish basketball in terms of clubs and national teams. Fenerbahçe’s EuroLeague championship and the National Men’s Basketball Team winning the silver medal in the European Championship were very valuable for Turkish basketball. This means that the bar has been raised a little more, and the goals and expectations have increased a little more. We can say that it motivates us. What we have always wanted for years is for the success of our national teams to reach those levels, and we started the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers with 2 wins. We have 2 important matches ahead of us. We performed well against them in the European Championship. Of course, we can say that the absence of some of our friends playing in the NBA in the window matches left us in a poor situation, but hopefully this is an opportunity for our other friends to come out with a good performance. We continue.”
“HOPE WE WILL GET THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP”
Hidayet Türkoğlu said that he believes that the National Women’s Basketball Team will buy a World Cup ticket in Istanbul with its rising performance.
Emphasizing that Istanbul will host a window of the qualifiers to be held on March 11-17, Türkoğlu said, “We believe that we should always be in such organizations. Women have achieved this, hopefully it will be very meaningful for us if we manage to go to the Olympics in the men’s category. The National Women’s Basketball Team has earned the right to participate in the World Cup qualifiers at the European Championship with its rising performance. I believe that our people will not leave our national team alone at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center. I hope we will achieve success there. “We have the right to participate in the World Cup, which will be held in Germany in 2026. As a country, we need to be here. We need to represent our country in the best possible way. We clearly see that the interest and interest in basketball has increased with the success achieved by both our women and men this summer.” he said.
Thanking Anadolu Agency, Hidayet Türkoğlu said, “You have always supported us and Turkish basketball in every sense and have always been with us. Thanks to you, we can reflect our thoughts and ideas to our country. In this sense, let us convey our greetings and thanks to you and then to your esteemed general manager and our board member Serdar Bey. Hopefully, we would like to host you here again in other projects.” He finished by saying.