Эрсан Ильясова: Путь турецкого баскетболиста в NBA

Turkish basketball player (born 1987)

Ersan İlyasova (born 15 May 1987) is a Turkish former professional basketball player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including 9 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks. He also played in Turkey, Spain and the NBA Development League.

İlyasova played for Yeşilyurt in the Turkish second division league during the 2003–04 season.

İlyasova stepped up to the Turkish Basketball League for the 2004–05 season with Ülkerspor, averaging 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in eleven games.

İlyasova was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 36th overall pick of the 2005 NBA draft. In July 2005, he joined the Bucks for the 2005 NBA Summer League. On 22 August 2005, he signed with the Bucks. On 14 November 2005, he was assigned to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, an assignment that lasted the entire 2005–06 season. In 46 games for the 66ers, he averaged 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. İlyasova made his NBA debut for the Bucks on 1 November 2006 in a 105–97 win over the Detroit Pistons. In 2006–07, he played 66 games for the Bucks, averaging 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. In June 2007, the Bucks tendered a qualifying offer to İlyasova to make him a restricted free agent.

On 18 July 2007, İlyasova signed a two year deal with FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB. In 2009, he won a championship with Barcelona.

In July 2009, İlyasova signed a multi year deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks.

On 3 August 2011, İlyasova signed with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball League for the duration of the NBA lockout.

In December 2011, İlyasova returned to the Bucks following the conclusion of the lockout. On 19 February 2012, İlyasova set new career highs with 29 points and 25 rebounds against the New Jersey Nets, becoming just the third Bucks player in franchise history to record at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in a game, after Kareem Abdul Jabbar (10 times) and Swen Nater (once). The feat had not been achieved for more than 35 years. He subsequently earned the Player of the Week award for his performances from March 5–11. On 12 July 2012, İlyasova re signed with the Bucks on a multi year deal. On 27 March 2014, İlyasova was ruled out for the remainder of the 2013–14 season due to a right ankle injury. On 26 March 2015, İlyasova scored a career high 34 points in a 111–107 win over the Indiana Pacers.

On 11 June 2015, İlyasova was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams. The move reunited him with Brandon Jennings, who he played with in Milwaukee. On 27 October he made his debut for the Pistons in a 106–94 win over the Atlanta Hawks, recording 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one block in 34 minutes.

On 16 February 2016, İlyasova was traded to the Orlando Magic, along with Brandon Jennings, in exchange for Tobias Harris. The next day, he made his debut with the Magic in a 110–104 win over the Dallas Mavericks, recording 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 23 minutes.

On 23 June 2016, İlyasova was traded, along with Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Serge Ibaka. He appeared in three games for the Thunder to begin the 2016–17 season.

On 1 November 2016, İlyasova was traded, along with a conditional first round pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Jerami Grant. He made his debut for the 76ers the next day, scoring an equal team high 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting in a 109–93 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. On 6 December he had season bests of 23 points and 17 rebounds in a 96–91 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He had a second 23 point game on 8 December against the New Orleans Pelicans, and a third 23 point game on 30 December against the Denver Nuggets—both resulting in wins. On 29 January 2017, he scored a season high 31 points in a 121–108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

On 22 February 2017, İlyasova was traded again, this time to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Tiago Splitter, a protected 2017 second round pick, and the option to swap a second round pick. On 21 July 2017, İlyasova re signed with the Hawks. On 26 February 2018, he was waived by the Hawks.

On 28 February 2018, İlyasova signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, returning to the franchise for a second stint.

On 16 July 2018, İlyasova signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, returning to the franchise for a third stint. On 16 December 2018, he sustained a fractured nose during practice, which required surgery. On 19 November 2020, İlyasova was waived by Milwaukee.

On 11 March 2021, İlyasova signed with the Utah Jazz for the remainder of the season. On 17 April, İlyasova logged a season high 20 points on 7 of 11 field goal shooting and 6 of 8 from three, in addition to five rebounds, four steals and two blocks across 31 minutes in a 115–127 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. On 22 December 2021, İlyasova signed a 10 day contract with the Chicago Bulls. İlyasova entered the NBA's health and safety protocols on December 28, and did not play for the team before his contract expired.

Before playing for the senior Turkey national basketball team, İlyasova was named the MVP of the 2006 FIBA Europe Under 20 Championship, after leading Turkey's junior national team to a silver medal in İzmir. İlyasova has since represented Turkey at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 2007, EuroBasket 2009, 2010 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 2011, EuroBasket 2013 and EuroBasket 2015.

İlyasova is the son of Crimean Tatar parents Anvar and Iraliye İlyasova. He is married to Julia, who was born in Belarus. They have two daughters and one son, all born in Milwaukee. İlyasova is Muslim.

Since the 2003 Turkish Junior Basketball Championship held in Konya, there has been some controversy to İlyasova's age and national origin. The controversy is fueled by the claim that a man named Arsen Ilyasov, born in 1984 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, entered Turkey as an 18 year old on 7 August 2002 and was never heard from again, while on 19 September 2002, a man named Semsettin Bulut claimed to have forgotten to register the birth of his now 15 year old son, and did so as Ersan İlyasova, a Turkish citizen. This claim, that İlyasova is actually Ilyasov and should be an Uzbek player, was officially put forth by the Uzbekistan Basketball Federation in a grievance, but FIBA ruled in the Turkish Basketball Federation's favor. Other biographies, while not claiming an Uzbek birth, still maintain a 1984 birth year.