When Furkan Korkmaz checked in midway through the first quarter on opening night, my eyebrows raised. It came out of nowhere — Korkmaz had gotten decent minutes in the preseason, but few expected him to earnestly contend for regular season minutes.
In the Philadelphia 76ers‘ win over Boston, Korkmaz was on the court for 19 minutes. Matisse Thybulle, who earned 21 minutes, was the only reserve to see more playing time. Korkmaz was the Sixers’ seventh man on opening night, against a long-tenured rival and division opponent.
Objectively speaking, Korkmaz wasn’t bad.