\u201cUltimately, my biggest goal is to play in the NBA,\u201d Basaran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore that, I’d like to go to college in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had to name an NBA player I look up to, I’d say Kevin Durant. I really admire his shooting ability and the fact that he can do so many different things on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, I study Nikola Joki\u0107’s footwork. That’s something I really try to learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basaran is averaging 8.0 points (64%), 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 assists in 18 minutes for the 4-0 Australians.<\/p>\n
He was dominant in Australia\u2019s blow-out win against Serbia in the Round of 16.<\/p>\n
15 points7 rebounds2 steals2 blocks7-of-9 shooting (77.8%)20 efficiency rating in 22 minutesYahya Basaran at the 2026 FIBA Under-17 World Cup<\/p>\n
Game
\n MIN
\n PTS
\n FG
\n 2PT FG
\n 3PT FG
\n FT
\n OREB
\n DREB
\n REB
\n AST
\n PF
\n TO
\n STL
\n BLK
\n +\/-
\n EFF<\/p>\n
vs Serbia \u2014 Group Phase
\n 22
\n 15
\n 7\/9
77.8%
\n 7\/9
77.8%
\n 0\/0
\n 1\/2
50.0%
\n 2
\n 5
\n 7
\n 0
\n 3
\n 3
\n 2
\n 2
\n 21
\n 20<\/p>\n
vs C\u00f4te d’Ivoire \u2014 Group Phase
\n 14
\n 4
\n 2\/7
28.6%
\n 2\/7
28.6%
\n 0\/0
\n 0\/0
\n 8
\n 4
\n 12
\n 1
\n 1
\n 1
\n 0
\n 0
\n -12
\n 11<\/p>\n
vs Venezuela \u2014 Group Phase
\n 16
\n 8
\n 3\/4
75.0%
\n 3\/4
75.0%
\n 0\/0
\n 2\/4
50.0%
\n 1
\n 3
\n 4
\n 2
\n 1
\n 2
\n 0
\n 2
\n 13
\n 11<\/p>\n
vs Slovenia \u2014 Round of 16
\n 21
\n 8
\n 4\/5
80.0%
\n 4\/5
80.0%
\n 0\/0
\n 0\/0
\n 3
\n 2
\n 5
\n 1
\n 0
\n 0
\n 1
\n 2
\n 27
\n 16<\/p>\n
Average
\n 18.0
\n 8.8
\n 4.0\/6.3
64.0%
\n 4.0\/6.3
64.0%
\n 0.0\/0.0
0.0%
\n 0.8\/1.5
50.0%
\n 3.5
\n 3.5
\n 7.0
\n 1.0
\n 1.3
\n 1.5
\n 0.8
\n 1.5
\n 12.3
\n 14.5<\/p>\n
Total
\n 72
\n 35
\n 16\/25
64.0%
\n 16\/25
64.0%
\n 0\/0
\n 3\/6
50.0%
\n 14
\n 14
\n 28
\n 4
\n 5
\n 6
\n 3
\n 6
\n 49
\n 58<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I played well over the last two or three games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did the best I could, and especially in the game against Serbia, I thought we played really well.<\/p>\n
\u201cTournaments like this are a great stepping stone for what’s next. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey help us on the path toward our future goals, especially because they let us experience a higher professional level. We understand the standard of play much better, and competing in these games really helps us improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basaran said the Crocs\u2019 goal at the World Cup was simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to win a medal,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, I think we’re having a really good tournament as a team, and we’re excited about what’s ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I just want to play as physically as I can and show everyone how much I’ve improved. As a team, we’re very happy, and I’m proud of this group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Serbia game, in particular, was a really good performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is trying to play individually. We play as a team, we share the ball, we play physically, and we’re really happy with how we’re performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re excited for the games that are still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a46c82c7f1053a8b0f3f02d_qlpgv6mrlrbcmhbkhbzp.jpeg\")
Basaran shoots a jump hook against C\u00f4te d’Ivoire in Group D. Photo: FIBA.com<\/p>\n
Basaran plays for the Centre of Excellence in NBL1, and he said it continues to prepare him for the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my club, I play as a centre and power forward, and I’m training and playing with some of the best players in Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day I’m getting better, and that’s showing in my performances. Whether it’s my footwork or my finishing around the basket, I’m improving in every area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a really important step towards achieving my goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I said, you’re playing with the best 12 players in the country, and you’re competing in Australia’s second-highest league.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat experience is helping me improve every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Season
\n Team
\n GP
\n MIN
\n PPG
\n REB
\n APG
\n BPG
\n SPG
\n TPG
\n FG%
\n FT%
\n FGM
\n FGA
\n 3PM
\n 3PA
\n PF<\/p>\n
2026
\n Centre of Excellence
\n 18
\n 10.2
\n 3.3
\n 3.1
\n 0.2
\n 0.3
\n 0.2
\n 0.7
\n 47.1%
\n 85.7%
\n 1.3
\n 2.8
\n 0.0
\n 0.0
\n 1.1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yahya Basaran reveals his NBA dream as the Australian centre shines at the FIBA Under-17 World Cup. Australian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-775228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}