Kenan Sipahi (Albanian: Kenan Spahiu; born May 26, 1995) is a Kosovo-born Turkish professional basketball player for Karşıyaka Basket of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the Champions League. The point guard descent stands at 6 ft 5.75 in (1.97 m).
 Sipahi with the Fenerbahçe in December 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 55 – Karşıyaka Basket | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Point guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Basketbol Süper Ligi Champions League | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 26, 1995 Pristina, FR Yugoslavia (modern Kosovo) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Turkish / Kosovan | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5.75 in (1.97 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2017: undrafted | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2010–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Tofaş | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Fenerbahçe | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | →Karşıyaka | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Beşiktaş | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Real Betis | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Fenerbahçe Beko | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Casademont Zaragoza | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Beşiktaş | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–present | Karşıyaka Basket | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early years
editKenan Sipahi was born in 1995 in Pristina, Kosovo to Xhelal Spahiu or Celal Sipahi, and Bisera Spahiu or Bisera Sipahi. He has been described as having Albanian[1] or Turkish[2] background. Sipahi started playing basketball in Pristina at the age of nine and became a top-level prospect in Turkey at age 15.
Professional career
editHe made his professional debut in the Turkish League with Tofaş Bursa during the 2010–11 season. He was already playing regularly at the age of 16.
Sipahi made his breakthrough in a 2012–13 season. He played plenty of minutes in the league and EuroChallenge. On January 15, 2013, he scored a game winning three-pointer against Khimik. He averaged 7 points and 2.7 assists in 32 league games.
On September 2, 2013, he signed a three-year contract with option to extend for one season with Fenerbahçe.[3][4] At the age of 19, he made the roster of Fenerbahçe in the Euroleague. In February 2014, he had season-ending injury, after breaking his arm in Turkish Cup game against Trabzonspor.[5] In his first Euroleague season with the team, he averaged 2.7 points, 1.1 assists and 1 rebound over 15 games.
On September 30, 2015, he was loaned to Karşıyaka for one season.[6] Over the season, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the Turkish League, while also having career-high averages of 5.3 points and 3.7 assists in the Euroleague. On July 1, 2016, he was released from Fenerbahçe.[7]
On July 13, 2016, Sipahi signed a one-year contract with Beşiktaş.[8] On July 18, 2017, he re-signed with Beşiktaş for two more seasons.[9] On August 6, 2019, Sipahi signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Coosur Real Betis.[10]
On July 16, 2020, he has signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League.[11] On June 17, 2021, Sipahi parted ways with the Turkish club once more.
On September 15, 2021, he has signed with Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.[12] Sipahi parted ways with the team on December 10.[13]
On December 16, 2021, he has signed with Beşiktaş Icrypex of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[14]
On June 21, 2022, he has signed with Pınar Karşıyaka of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) for as second stint after six years.[15]
Turkish national team
editSipahi is a regular Turkish youth national team player. He helped Turkey's U-18 national team win the gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he was named to the MVP and All-Tournament Team, averaging 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Also he played at the EuroBasket 2017 with Turkey's men's basketball national team
Personal life
editSipahi is fluent in Turkish, Albanian, Serbian and English languages.[16]
He married Albanian model Ilda Abazi in July 2021 in a lavish ceremony at the Ciragan Kempinski palace in Istanbul. [17]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
Euroleague
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Fenerbahçe | 15 | 8 | 12.6 | .517 | .364 | .700 | 1.0 | 1.1 | .5 | .1 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| 2014–15 | 22 | 11 | 9.8 | .318 | .192 | .750 | .8 | .7 | .4 | .0 | 1.6 | .2 | |
| 2015–16 | Karşıyaka | 10 | 5 | 18.9 | .358 | .200 | .688 | 1.1 | 3.7 | .9 | .0 | 5.3 | 6.1 |
| Career | 47 | 24 | 12.6 | .381 | .228 | .700 | .9 | 1.4 | .5 | .0 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
Accomplishments and awards
editIndividual
edit- 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: MVP
- 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: All-Tournament Team
References
edit- ^ "KENAN SPAHIU TE SKUADRA E NJOHUR SPANJOLLE". Asisti Online. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
Basketbollisti me prejardhje shqiptare, Kenan Spahiu
- ^ "Kenan Sipahi kimdir?". SuperHaber. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
Kosova'da doğmuş büyümüş Türk kökenli basketbolcudur
- ^ "Fenerbahce Ulker sign Kenan Sipahi". sportando.net. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^ "Fenerbahçe Ülker'de 3 yeni isim". fenerbahce.org (in Turkish). 2 July 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ "Fenerbahce Ulker loses Sipahi for 3 months". euroleague.net. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^ "Fenerbahce officially loans Kenan Sipahi to Pinar Karsiyaka". sportando.com. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ "Infırmation about Kenan Sipahi contract". Retrieved 2016-07-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Kenan Sipahi Beşiktaş Sompo Japan'da". bjk.com.tr (in Turkish). 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ Besiktas Sompo Japan re-sign Kenan Sipahi for two seasons
- ^ "Kenan Sipahi signs with Real Betis". Sportando. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Fenerbahce welcomes back Sipahi". Eurobasket. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "Kenan Sipahi signs with Casademont Zaragoza". Sportando. September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ "Sipahi leaves Zaragoza". Eurobasket. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ "Beşiktaş Icrypex, Kenan Sipahi'nin transferini açıkladı! - Spor Haberi". www.hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Karşıyaka Kenan Sipahi'yi açıkladı" (in Turkish). basketfaul. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
- ^ "Pričaj srpski da te turski košarkaš razume: Kenan Sipahi o duelu sa Srbijom #EuroBasket2017". youtube.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Almeda marries her sister".
External links
edit- Kenan Sipahi at euroleague.net
- Kenan Sipahi at fiba.com
- Kenan Sipahi at tblstat.net
- Kenan Sipahi on Twitter