Ersan İlyasova
Ersan İlyasova | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 15, 1987 Turkey |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2003–2021 |
| Known for | Thirteen seasons in the NBA, notably with the Milwaukee Bucks |
Ersan İlyasova (born 15 May 1987) is a retired Turkish professional basketball athlete who played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), with nine of those seasons spent with the Milwaukee Bucks. His professional journey also included periods competing in Turkey, Spain, and the NBA Development League.
Yeşilyurt (2003–2004)
İlyasova launched his professional basketball career during the 2003–04 season, competing in Turkey’s second-tier league with Yeşilyurt.
Ülkerspor (2004–2005)
In the 2004–05 season, İlyasova stepped up to the Turkish Basketball League by joining Ülkerspor, where he averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds across eleven appearances.
Milwaukee Bucks (2005–2007)
Chosen as the 36th pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, İlyasova participated in their 2005 NBA Summer League and signed a contract on 22 August 2005. He spent the entire 2005–06 season playing for the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA Development League, posting averages of 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist over 46 games. İlyasova made his NBA debut on 1 November 2006 and appeared in 66 games during the 2006–07 campaign, averaging 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. The Bucks extended a qualifying offer to maintain his restricted free agent status in June 2007.
Barcelona (2007–2009)
On 18 July 2007, İlyasova inked a two-year deal with FC Barcelona competing in the Liga ACB. He played a role in FC Barcelona securing the league championship in the 2009 season.
Return to Milwaukee (2009–2011)
İlyasova rejoined the Milwaukee Bucks on a multi-year contract in July 2009.
Anadolu Efes (2011)
Amidst the 2011 NBA lockout, İlyasova signed with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball League on 3 August 2011.
Third stint with Milwaukee (2011–2015)
After the lockout ended, İlyasova returned to Milwaukee in December 2011. On 19 February 2012, he achieved career-best numbers with a performance of 29 points and 25 rebounds against the New Jersey Nets, becoming only the third player in Bucks history to record at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in a single game, joining legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Swen Nater. This feat had not been accomplished by a Bucks player for over three decades. His outstanding play from March 5–11 earned him Player of the Week honors.
On 12 July 2012, İlyasova secured a multi-year contract extension with Milwaukee. However, on 27 March 2014, he was ruled out for the rest of that season due to a right ankle injury. Nearly one year later, on 26 March 2015, he set a personal scoring record by tallying 34 points during a narrow 111–107 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Detroit Pistons (2015–2016)
İlyasova was traded to the Detroit Pistons on 11 June 2015 in exchange for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams, reuniting him with former teammate Brandon Jennings. He made his Pistons debut on 27 October, contributing sixteen points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one block in a win against the Atlanta Hawks by a score of 106–94.
Orlando Magic (2016)
On 16 February 2016, İlyasova was part of a trade sending him along with Brandon Jennings to the Orlando Magic in return for Tobias Harris. The next day, he made his first appearance for Orlando, delivering sixteen points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal during a 110–104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2016)
On 23 June 2016, İlyasova was included in a trade package alongside Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in return for Serge Ibaka. He participated in three games for Oklahoma City at the outset of the 2016–17 campaign.
Philadelphia 76ers (2016–2017)
İlyasova was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on 1 November 2016, along with a conditional first-round pick, in exchange for Jerami Grant. He made his debut the following day, leading the team with 14 points despite a defeat against the Charlotte Hornets. On 6 December, he recorded season-best figures with 23 points and 17 rebounds during a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. İlyasova matched his 23-point performance twice more—first on 8 December versus the New Orleans Pelicans, then again on 30 December against the Denver Nuggets—both games ending in victories. He reached a season-high 31 points on 29 January 2017, although the team fell short against the Chicago Bulls.
Atlanta Hawks (2017–2018)
On 22 February 2017, İlyasova was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Tiago Splitter, a protected second-round pick for 2017, and an option to swap second-round selections.
İlyasova re-signed with Atlanta on 21 July 2017 but was released by the Hawks on 26 February 2018.
Return to Philadelphia (2018)
İlyasova rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers on 28 February 2018, marking his second tenure with the organization.
Fourth stint with Milwaukee (2018–2020)
On 16 July 2018, İlyasova returned to the Milwaukee Bucks for his third period with the team. In December of that year, he endured a fractured nose during practice that necessitated surgical intervention.
The Bucks waived İlyasova on 19 November 2020.
Utah Jazz (2021)
İlyasova inked a deal with the Utah Jazz on 11 March 2021 for the remainder of that season. On 17 April, he achieved a season-high of 20 points with efficient shooting, complemented by five rebounds, four steals, and two blocks in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
He signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls on 22 December 2021 but entered NBA health and safety protocols on December 28 and did not play before his contract expired.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 66 || 14 || 14.7 || .383 || .365 || .787 || 2.9 || .7 || .4 || .3 || 6.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 81 || 31 || 23.4 || .443 || .336 || .715 || 6.4 || 1.0 || .7 || .3 || 10.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 60 || 34 || 25.1 || .436 || .298 || .894 || 6.1 || .9 || .9 || .4 || 9.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 60 || 41 || 27.6 || .492 || .455 || .781 || 8.8 || 1.2 || .7 || .7||13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee |73||54||27.6||.462||.444||.796||7.1||1.6||.9||.5||13.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee |55||47||26.9||.409||.282||.823||6.2||1.3||.8||.1||11.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;" |Milwaukee
|58||36||22.7||.472||.389||.645||4.8||1.0||.6||.3||11.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 |Detroit / Orlando |52||52||27.6||.425||.363||.725||5.4||1.1||.7||.5||11.3 |- |4||20..3|||418|||409|||711|||5..5|||0..5|||0..6|||0..3|||8..1 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3 |Oklahoma City / Philadelphia / Atlanta |3*||0||20..8|||375|||250|||000|||5..3|||0..3|||1..0|||0..3|||5..0 |- |53*||40||27..3|||440|||359|||768|||5..9|||1..8|||0..6|||0..3|||14..8 |- |26*||12||24..3|||412|||348|||800|||5..8|||1..6|||0..8|||0..3|||10..4 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 |Atlanta / Philadelphia |46||40||25..5|||459|||359|||800|||5..5|||1..1|||1..0|||0..4|||10..9 |- |23||3||24..1|||439|||361|||733|||6..7|||1..7|||0..7|||0..4|||10..8 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Milwaukee |67||7||||18..4||||438||||363||||824||||4..5||||0..8||||0..5||||0..3||||6..8 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Milwaukee |63||||8||||15..7||||466||||365||||828||||4..8||||0..8||||0..4||||0..3||||6..6 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Utah |17||||1||||8..7||||389||||439||||1..000||||1..7||||0..2||||0..6||||0..2||||3..8 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan= "2"| Career |825||||424||||23..0||||443||||367||||777||||5..6||||1..1||||7||||4||||10..1
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 7 || 0 || 22.4 || .480 || .357 || .833 || 7.6 || .4 || .7 || .1 || 9.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2013 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 4 || 4 || 29.3 || .435 || .400 || 1.000 || 7.3 || 1.8 || 1.3 || .3 || 11.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 6 || 6 || 23.7 || .328 || .217 || .700 || 3.8 || .5 || .8 || .5 || 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 6 || 0 || 15.0 || .348 || .200 || .778 || 5.2 || .3 || .2 || .0 || 4.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 10 || 1 || 23.3 || .429 || .290 || .571 || 7.6 || 1.3 || .7 || .4 || 9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 15 || 0 || 18.1 || .432 || .300 || .800 || 4.7 || 1.4 || .7 || .4 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 3 || 0 || 7.7 || .333 || .200 || 1.000|| 1.3|| .0|| .7|| .0|| 3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2021 | style="text-align:left;" | Utah | 1||0||3.0|| .500||.000||1.000||.0||.0||.0||.0||4.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 52||11||19.9||.413||.287||.753||5.5||.9||.7||.3||7.7
EuroLeague
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;" | Ülkerspor | 6||0||4.8||.267||.111||.500||.5||.0||.0||.0||1.7||-1.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;" | FC Barcelona | 22||8||18.1||.379||.241||.538||4.7||.7||.8||1.1||6.1||7.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;" | FC Barcelona | 22|||15|||20.8|||.457|||.403|||.816|||.700|||.8|||.5|||.6|||.10.5|||13.0
National team career
Prior to joining the senior ranks of the Turkey national basketball team, İlyasova earned MVP honors at the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, helping Turkey's junior squad secure a silver medal in İzmir. He has since taken part in numerous major international competitions for Turkey, including the 2006 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 2007, EuroBasket 2009, the 2010 FIBA World Championship, as well as the tournaments of EuroBasket 2011, EuroBasket 2013, and EuroBasket 2015.
Personal life
İlyasova was born to Crimean Tatar parents, Anvar and Iraliye İlyasova. He is married to Julia, who hails from Belarus, and together they have three children—two daughters and a son—all of whom were born in Milwaukee. İlyasova follows the Islamic faith.
Citizenship and age
Questions regarding İlyasova's nationality and age have persisted since the 2003 Turkish Junior Basketball Championship held in Konya. Allegations indicate that Arsen Ilyasov, originally born in 1984 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, entered Turkey in 2002 and subsequently vanished, while a man named Semsettin Bulut reportedly registered a 15-year-old son under the name Ersan İlyasova as a Turkish citizen. The Uzbekistan Basketball Federation lodged a complaint, contending that İlyasova should be recognized as Uzbek; however, FIBA ultimately sided with the Turkish Basketball Federation. Despite this ruling, ESPN analyst Chad Ford once referred to him as "The 17-year-old forward from Uzbekistan... widely considered the best prospect to ever come out of Turkey." Some profiles continue to list his birth year as 1984 without confirming his connection to Uzbekistan.