About Hidayet Turkoglu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (born March 19, 1979 in Gaziosmanpaşa, İstanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish professional basketball player in the NBA currently playing for the Toronto Raptors. He plays the small forward position, although he has played four positions in his career. He possesses above-average ballhandling and playmaking skills for a forward, and is sometimes used in a point forward role. Türkoğlu joined Efes Pilsen in 1996 and played four seasons with the team. He averaged 8.4 points on 58 percent shooting in 50 games in the Euroleague. Türkoğlu helped the team reach the 2000 Euroleague Final Four, averaging 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 22 games. Türkoğlu was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 16th pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. He was the first Turkish-born player in NBA history. He earned consideration for the NBA's Sixth Man Award in his sophomore season, after averaging 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. During the 2003 offseason, Türkoğlu was traded to the San Antonio Spurs along with Ron Mercer in a three-team trade. The trade also sent Brad Miller to the Kings and Scot Pollard and Danny Ferry to the Pacers. Türkoğlu played one season with the Spurs and averaged 9.2 points on a career-high 42 percent three-point shooting. Türkoğlu joined the Orlando Magic in 2004. He scored a career-high 39 points twice: in an April 2007 game against the Toronto Raptors, and in a March 2008 game against the Washington Wizards. On April 28, 2008, Türkoğlu was named the NBA's Most Improved Player Award for the 2007–08 NBA season. Türkoğlu helped the Orlando Magic win 52 games, and averaged career-highs in points per game (19.5), rebounds per game (5.7) and assists per game (5.0) and started all 82 regular season games. In the 2008–09 NBA season, the Magic reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995. However, they lost in 5 games. Türkoğlu decided to opt out of his contract. On July 3, 2009, ESPN reported that Türkoğlu had reached an agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers. However, he backed out of the commitment with the Blazers and reportedly accepted a five-year $53 million offer from the Toronto Raptors. On July 9, 2009, Türkoğlu was signed and traded to the Toronto Raptors as a part of a four-team deal among the Raptors, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies which also included Shawn Marion.