Serdar Apaydın

Serdar Apaydın — Biography

Serdar Apaydın was a Turkish shooter known for his three-point shooting. Born in Kula and used as a guard and small forward, he played for Ülkerspor and Fenerbahçe in the 1990s and was part of the national team. After leaving the court he worked as a coach at Fenerbahçe and later took charge of Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyespor.

His path began at Çukurova Sanayi, where he played from 1986 to 1990, and rose with his scoring at TED Ankara Kolejliler, where his long-range shooting earned a national-team call-up in 1991; his club finished third in the Klasman League in 1991-92. After a season at Galatasaray in 1992-93 he joined the newly founded Ülkerspor, staying until 1997: the club won the league in 1994-95 and reached the finals in 1993-94 and 1995-96, and he played at the 1993 and 1995 European Championships. He moved to Fenerbahçe in 1997, averaging 10.3 points in his first season and 9.0 in his second while helping the club to solid European results. He ended his playing career in 2001 to do his military service.

Coaching followed straight away. In 2007 he led Fenerbahçe's youth side, competing under the Alpella name, to the national title for the first time in 25 years, and in 2008 and 2010 he was an assistant with the club's championship-winning senior team. Before 2011-12 he took over at Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyespor. His son, Leon Harun Apaydın, is also a basketball player.