Ömer Aşık

Ömer Aşık — Biography

Born on 4 July 1986 in Bursa, Ömer Faruk Aşık is a Turkish former basketball player who stood 2.13 metres (7 ft 0 in) tall and built his game around rebounding and shot-blocking at the center position. A diagnosis of Crohn's disease forced him to retire from professional basketball at 32.

Aşık turned professional with Fenerbahçe in 2005, spending loan spells at FMV Işık Spor and Alpella before returning to the club in 2007, where he led both the EuroLeague and the Turkish league in blocks during the 2007-08 season. That performance led the Portland Trail Blazers to select him 36th overall in the 2008 NBA draft, and he made his own move to the league ahead of the 2010-11 season by signing with the Chicago Bulls. After two seasons in Chicago, he joined the Houston Rockets in 2012, then was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team trade in 2014.

Known by nicknames including "The Turkish Hammer", "The Sheikh" and "Asik the Destroyer", Aşık first represented Turkey at the Under-20 European Championship in 2006 and made his senior national team debut at EuroBasket 2009. He was the starting center on the Turkish squad that won the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.