"We are very pleased to have landed one of the top free agents available this summer," said Bryan Colangelo, Raptors President and General Manager. "Hedo Turkoglu is an ideal fit basketball wise, and his diverse skill set and size will make him a tremendous addition to our already offensively potent team.
"The fact that Hedo and his wife chose Toronto is a great reflection on both our basketball team and this exceptional city we live in."
Turkoglu helped lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals this past season, averaging 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 38.9 minutes in postseason play. In the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Turkoglu contributed a team-best 18.0 points, with 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 41.2 minutes. He had a high of 25 points in Game 4. In the Eastern Conference Finals versus Cleveland, he averaged 17.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 41.0 minutes in six outings. He totaled a double-double in a Game 1 victory with 15 points and a career playoff-high 14 assists. In the second-round matchup with the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics, he recorded a team-high 25-point, 12-assist outing in a series-clinching Game 7 victory in Boston. In the opening-round series against the 76ers, he hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in Game 4 in Philadelphia.
In the 2008-09 regular season, Turkoglu posted double digits in scoring in 72 of his 77 appearances, including 29 contests with 20-plus pints. He also contributed five or more assists in 40 games. He had a season-high 35 points versus Portland on November 10. He added season bests of 11 rebounds on two occasions (January 29 versus Cleveland and January 2 versus Miami) and 11 assists February 26 at Indiana.
In the 2007-08 season, Turkoglu recorded career bests of 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 82 games en route to being named the 2008 NBA's Most Improved Player.
Turkoglu has averaged 18.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 36.7 minutes in 159 regular season games over the past two seasons. He has shot .818 (638-780) from the free throw line and .379 (300-791) from three-point range. In 34 postseason outings over that same span he has averaged 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 39.2 minutes, while shooting .826 (133-161) from the foul line and .356 (42-118) from beyond the arc.
Turkoglu, 6-foot-10, 220 pounds, averaged double figures in scoring in each of his past five seasons in Orlando. He has also appeared in an average of 77.5 games over the last four campaigns.
The nine-year NBA veteran has averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 27.9 minutes in 678 career regular season games. In 82 postseason contests, he had contributed 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 30.7 minutes. He has appeared in 10 or more playoff games in five of his nine seasons.
Turkoglu was a first-round selection (16th overall) by the Sacramento Kings in the 2000 NBA Draft. He spent three seasons with the Kings and one in San Antonio (2003-04) before signing as a free agent with the Magic in the 2004 offseason.
Prior to coming to the NBA, Turkoglu averaged 8.3 points, shooting .569 from the field, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 87 games in four Turkish Professional League seasons (1996-2000) with Efes Pilsen, which is located in Istanbul where he was born and raised. He also averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 50 EuroLeague Tournament games with Efes Pilsen during those four seasons. He helped lead Efes Pilsen to the 2000 EuroLeague Final Four, averaging 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 22 tournament games. His full name is Hidayet Turkoglu, and is nicknamed Hedo. His NBA signing in 2000 with the Kings was a national sports event in Turkey, with a nationally televised press conference.
