LJUBLJANA (Slovenia) - The word 'tired' is probably missing from any dictionary ever owned by Omer Kutluay.
While others would be exhausted from what the Türkiye playmaker is going through this summer, Kutluay just keeps running on a high at FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2026.
"It's just passion. Passion, man. Passion."
That is thanks to his love for the game - a passion that is helping him make history.
Kutluay has contributed 12.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game as Türkiye have reached the Quarter-Finals in Ljubljana. The point guard is averaging 24 minutes per game through the first four games - including 30 minutes against Italy in the final group stage game.
Kutluay is producing like that despite being only 17 years old and facing players three years older than him.
"It's a lot different because people here play at the professional level, so they're much more physical," he said.
But even those 30 minutes against Italy were nothing for Kutluay, who averaged 37.2 minutes per game at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026. He played an incredible 47:37 minutes in the thrilling double-overtime comeback win over New Zealand to start the tournament.
"It's just passion. I love the game so I don't get tired," Kutluay said when asked from where he gets all his energy.
Kutluay ended the FIBA U17 World Cup with 28.4 points per game to go with 6.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists for an efficiency of 28.3. He ranked second in the tournament in efficiency and points and first in assists to earn a spot on the All-Star Five.
As great as Kutluay played, his efforts could not help Türkiye reach the podium when it was all said and done. Türkiye lost to Serbia in the Semi-Finals and then fell to Australia in the Third Place Game to leave Istanbul empty-handed.
"I don't think it was disappointing because we took so many fans with us. They believed in us, and we gave everything that we had," said Kutluay, who had the support of a record-breaking 8,348 fans in the Semi-Finals game.
"We were tired in the last game, so it's just a loss and we can't do anything about it. I don't think it was disappointing. I think it was a generational run for us."
In case you don't know yet, yes Kutluay is the son of Ibrahim Kutluay - the former Turkish senior national team guard who played in seven FIBA EuroBaskets from 1995 to 2007 as well as two FIBA Basketball World Cups. The elder Kutluay's biggest achievement with the national team was taking second place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2001.
After years of learning from his father, Omer now has taken his share of lessons from three previous youth national team competitions, the FIBA U17 World Cup after playing at two FIBA U16 EuroBaskets.
When asked what his biggest takeaways from Istanbul were, Kutluay said: "Never give up. We came back from 25 points, and many times we came back from eight points. Against France (in the Quarter-Finals) as well. So just never give up and keep playing."
Keep playing is something that Kutluay is doing this summer - and doing so in unprecedented fashion.
The FIBA U17 World Cup ended on Sunday, July 5 in Türkiye while the FIBA U20 EuroBasket tipped off on Saturday, July 11 in Slovenia. And, while Turkish senior national team head coach Ergin Ataman admitted he was considering nominating Kutluay for the July FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers window had it not been for the youth World Cup, the youngster did not think about playing in Ljubljana.
"I wasn't expecting it, but then I got a call that they wanted me on the team, and I said yes straight away. Now I'm just trying to help the team here," he said.
"I just have to help the team as much as possible. I have to play better defense because this team needs more defense from me. I don't have the ball that much here, so I have to help the team in other ways."
Many players who have appeared in the FIBA U17 World Cup went on to play later those summers in FIBA U18 EuroBaskets. Eray Akyuz of Türkiye and Spain's Joel Parra actually played at both the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2016 and FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2016 after starring in that summer's FIBA U17 World Cup.
But Kutluay is making history in Slovenia as the first player to ever play in both a FIBA U17 World Cup and FIBA U20 EuroBasket in the same summer. A big reason for that is also the U20 event usually starts just days after the youth World Cup.
When asked what it means to be the first person to play in both competitions, Kutluay's answer was simple: "It's just passion. Passion, man. Passion."
There it is again. That word, passion - another sign of just how much he loves the game.
FIBA