PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced Wednesday that the team has signed forward Ersan Ilyasova. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Ilyasova appeared in 46 games (40 starts) with Atlanta this season, averaging 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game, while shooting .459 from the field and .359 from three-point range. He has scored in double figures 23 times this season and has nine 20-point performances. Ilyasova is also fourth in the NBA in charges drawn with 22 after leading the league with 36 in 2016-17.
A native of Turkey, Ilyasova returns to Philadelphia where he played 53 games (40 starts) with the 76ers in 2016-17 after being acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City on Nov. 1, 2016. Ilyasova scored in double figures in 46 games with Philadelphia, scoring at least 20 points in 12 contests. He also posted a season-high 17 rebounds against Memphis on Dec. 6, 2016. Philadelphia later traded Ilyasova on Feb. 22, 2017 to Atlanta in exchange for Tiago Splitter and a 2017 second-round pick (forward-center Mathias Lessort).
Ilyasova finished the 2016-17 season with a career-high 142 made three-pointers, including 107 with the 76ers. Ilyasova’s previous high for a season was 96 in 2015-16.
In his 10th NBA season, Ilyasova has played in 655 games (405 starts) with Atlanta, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Detroit and Milwaukee. He holds career averages of 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. He is a lifetime .366 three-point shooter and was among the top five in the NBA in three-point percentage in back-to-back seasons, finishing tied for second in 2011-12 (.455) and fourth in 2012-13 (.444). Ilyasova has shot above .400 from field-goal range in eight of his nine seasons in the league.
The 6-foot-10 forward was originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 36th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
Ilyasova will wear No. 23 for the 76ers. Philadelphia now has seven international players on its roster, which is the second-most in the NBA behind the Utah Jazz with eight.
