Michael Wright (basketball)

Michael Wright

Wright (left) with the 2010 PLK All-Star game MVP award
Personal information
Born	(1980-01-07)January 7, 1980 Chicago, Illinois
Died	Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American–Turkish
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College	Arizona (1998–2001)
NBA draft	2001 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career	2001–2015
Position	Power forward
Career history
2001–2002	Śląsk Wrocław
2002–2003	Granada
2003–2004	Hapoel Tel Aviv
2004–2005	Alba Berlin
2005–2006	Beşiktaş Cola Turka
2006	Jeonju KCC Egis
2006–2007	Pau Orthez
2007–2009	Turk Telekom
2009–2010	Turów Zgorzelec
2010–2011	Medical Park Trabzonspor
2011–2012	Turk Telekom
2012–2014	Mersin BB
2015	Cholet Basket
Career highlights and awards
2x Turkish League Top Scorer (2011, 2013) Third-team All-American – AP (2001) 2× First-team All-Pac-10 (2000, 2001) Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (1999)
Medals Men's basketball Representing United States FIBA Americas U18 Championship 1998 Puerto Plata Team competition FIBA U19 World Championship 1999 Lisbon Team competition

Michael Wright (January 7, 1980 – November 10, 2015) was an American–Turkish professional basketball player who last played for Cholet Basket of the LNB Pro A. He also held Turkish citizenship. His Turkish name was Ali Karadeniz.

High school career

Wright played his high school basketball at Farragut Academy, where, as a freshman, he was part of one of the best teams in the country, which boasted future professionals Willie Farley and Ronnie Fields, as well as Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Garnett. At 2.01 m (6 ft 7 ¼ in), Wright played center after Garnett's departure, and moved to power forward in college.

College career

At the University of Arizona, Wright started for the Wildcats in the 2001 NCAA Division I championship against the Duke Blue Devils. However, undersized for that position at the pro level, and too slow to be a small forward,he dropped to the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft where he was drafted by the New York Knicks.

Professional career

Wright was drafted by the NBA club the New York Knicks, with the 39th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft. After not joining the Knicks or any other NBA team post-draft, Wright moved overseas and switched teams almost every season. He started with Polish league champions Śląsk Wrocław, that also participated in the Euroleague, moving to Spain's CB Granada the following year.

After the team was relegated to the LEB (Spain's second division), Wright moved to Israel and signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv, and a year later with ALBA Berlin.

In 2005, He moved to Beşiktaş Cola Turka of the Turkish Basketball League. He started the 2006–07 season in South Korea with Jeonju KCC Egis, in October signed with French and Euroleague's EB Pau Orthez.

In May 2007, he moved back to Turkey and signed for Türk Telekom B.K.. In September 2009 he has signed a contract with Turów Zgorzelec from Poland for 2009–10 season.

In July 2011, he returned to Türk Telekom B.K. for one season with an option for a second one.

In the summer of 2012, he signed a contract with Mersin BB.

On February 3, 2015, he signed with Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A. After averaging 1.7 points and 2 rebounds in 3 contests, Wright and Cholet parted ways.

Death

On November 10, 2015, Wright was found dead in his sport utility vehicle in Brooklyn, New York, covered in trash bags in the vehicle's back seat. The medical examiner has determined that his death was a homicide.

According to a family member interviewed after his death, Wright intended to return to Europe to play another two seasons before retirement.

External links

• College stats
• NBA Draft profile
• Eurobasket.com profile
• ACB profile (Spanish)
• TBLStat.net Profile
• Euroleague & Eurocup Profile