Georges Niang Asks Sixers’ Furkan Korkmaz If He Needs Backup

The matchup between Turkey and Georgia got heated at the 2022 EuroBasket games this past weekend. Among two players in a heated exchange in the closing seconds

The matchup between Turkey and Georgia got heated at the 2022 EuroBasket games this past weekend. Among two players in a heated exchange in the closing seconds of the matchup was Philadelphia 76ers’ reserve, Furkan Korkmaz.

As Korkmaz got into a heated exchange with an opponent, he had to be separated before getting ejected from the matchup. After leaving the court, Korkmaz was reportedly attacked on his way back to the locker room.

“While Furkan Korkmaz was walking in the hallway to the locker rooms with our trainer, Georgia’s players who were not in the active roster attacked him together with the ejected player and the police,” wrote Turkish federation Vice President Omer Onan. “There should not be an attack on the player that goes to the locker room. At the end of the match, 30 policemen each pushed us into a fight. We got into a fight with Georgia’s official police.”

Onan added that he demands to see security footage of the incident behind the scenes. Turkey intends to withdraw from the tournament if the footage is not revealed.

Hours after the incident, Korkmaz took to Twitter to react to everything that transpired. He did so by tweeting a few Turkish flag emojis, leading to Korkmaz’s Philadelphia 76ers teammate Georges Niang asking him if he needed help over there.

Yo you good you need back up over there? https://t.co/YHMdCalOaA

— Georges Niang (@GeorgesNiang20) September 5, 2022

Last offseason, Niang joined the Sixers via free agency after a stint with the Utah Jazz. During the same offseason, Korkmaz re-signed with the 76ers on a three-year deal.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Korkmaz and Niang grew close during the 2021-2022 NBA season. As Niang established himself as a high-energy valuable veteran leader off the Sixers’ bench, he’s developed strong relationships with his Sixers teammates, especially Korkmaz. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.