Serdar Apaydın

Serdar Apaydın — Biography

Born on 21 October 1966, Serdar Apaydın is a Turkish basketball figure who moved from playing to coaching after his retirement. Known for his sharpshooting at TED Ankara Kolejliler, he earned a call-up to the national team in 1991 and helped his club finish third in Turkey's top division that same season.

Apaydın joined the newly founded Ülkerspor in 1993, where over four seasons he won one league title and reached two finals while establishing himself as a national team regular, representing Turkey at the 1993 and 1995 European Championships. He then moved to Fenerbahçe in 1997, averaging around 10 points a game in his opening seasons and contributing to the club's strong European Cup runs before hanging up his boots in 2001.

He moved straight into coaching, guiding Fenerbahçe's youth team to its first national title in 25 years in 2007 and later serving as an assistant coach for the club's championship-winning senior squad in 2008 and 2010. Ahead of the 2011-12 season he took charge of Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyespor; his son, Leon Harun Apaydın, has also gone on to a career in basketball.