Semih Erden (born July 28, 1986) is a Turkish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Türk Telekom of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It repla ...

(BSL). Standing at , he plays at the center position.

Professional career

Early years

Erden played with Darüşşafaka in the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

in 2003-04 season, appeared in one game in which he recorded one point and two rebounds. He spent the majority of the season playing with the Darüşşafaka junior team. Next season, Erden played with Partizan Belgrade in the Adriatic League and averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. He scored in double figures twice, tallying a high of 17 points against

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. He contributed 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 12.5 minutes a contest in the EuroLeague. His highest scoring game of 10 points occurred against

Efes Pilsen Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

. In 2004–05, he also appeared in seven

Yugoslav Basketball League The First Federal Basketball League () was the highest tier level men's professional club basketball competition in SFR Yugoslavia. Founded in 1945 and folded in 1992 (1991-92 Winer Broker YUBA League), it was run by the Basketball Federation ...

games, averaging 1.7 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.4 minutes a contest.

Fenerbahçe

In 2005, he signed with Fenerbahçe of the

. Erden averaged 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.4 minutes a contest. He had a high of 14 points at Fenerbahçe and scored in double figures seven times. He also contributed 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.1 minutes a contest in nine Euroleague games. In his second season with Fenerbahçe, Erden played 16.1 minutes a game, averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in Turkish League play, registering a high of 10 points against Galatasaray Café Crown. In the Euroleague, Semih added 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per match. In third season Erden averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19.5 minutes a game in Turkish League play, scoring in double figures six times with a high of 15 points against CASA TED Kolejliler. During the season though, he missed a number of games due to a knee injury. In the Euroleague, he added 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19.3 minutes a contest, scored in double figures three times and posting high of 15 points against

Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

NBA

Erden was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

with the 60th pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Erden was still under a one-year contract with Fenerbahçe and did not join the roster in 2008–09. He was seen by Celtics general manager

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-sp ...

as their first-round pick in

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. On July 5, 2010, Celtics signed Erden to a one-year minimum contract with a team option for 2011–12. With Boston centers

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the great ...

, Kendrick Perkins and Jermaine O'Neal out with injuries, Erden earned his first career start on December 9, 2010 against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

. He scored 8 points in 18 minutes in a 102–101 victory. Two nights later, Erden started for the second time in a 93–62 victory over the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

. In that game Erden played a game-high 41 minutes recording 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and a plus/minus rating of +34. On February 24, 2011, Erden was traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

along with teammate Luke Harangody in exchange for a second-round draft pick. On June 30, 2012, the Cavaliers extended a qualifying offer to Erden, thus making him a restricted free agent.

Return to Europe

On September 21, 2011, Erden signed with the Turkish club

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

until the end of the 2011 NBA lockout. He played alongside

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All-Star Deron Williams. On November 22, 2011, Erden suffered a broken finger in a Eurochallenge game. On July 3, 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Anadolu Efes. On May 26, 2014, he parted ways with Efes. On August 1, 2014, he returned to Fenerbahçe signing a one-year deal. In 2014–15 season, Fenerbahçe advanced to the Euroleague Final Four for the first time in team's history. On May 15, 2015, however, they lost in the semifinal game to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

with 87–96. In August 2015, Erden signed a one-year deal with his former club Darüşşafaka. On August 26, 2016, he re-signed with Darüşşafaka. On February 6, 2017, he was waived by Darüşşafaka. On October 6, 2017, Erden signed a temporary contract with ABEL team Hacettepe Üniversitesi GSK in order to keep him able to sign a loan deal in BSL. On October 26, 2017, he signed a 1+1 deal with Beşiktaş. On October 2, 2018, Erden signed a one-year contract with BSL side

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. On August 20, 2019, he has signed with 2-year deal with Pınar Karşıyaka of the Turkish Basketball Super League. Erden averaged over 8 points and 4 rebounds in EuroCup in the 2019-20 season. On August 12, 2020, he extended his contract until 2022. On July 10, 2022, he has signed with Türk Telekom of the

(BSL).

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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National team career

Erden is a regular player on the Turkish national team. His first international experience came in the 2005 U20 European Championships held in

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. He averaged 10.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in seven games for Turkey. In the 2006 U20 European Championships, held in Izmir,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, Erden helped lead Turkey to a silver medal, averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight games. In the same year, he earned a spot on the Turkish team for the 2006 World Championship in Japan. He contributed 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds a game. In the 2007 European Championship in

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, Erden averaged 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in his five games.

Personal life

Some of Erden's ancestors are of

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

origin.