The Golden State Warriors are in full crisis mode and they didn’t waste a second — they just signed 7-foot Turkish center Omer Yurtseven to a 10-day contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday night.
Yurtseven, the former Heat and Jazz big man who just went absolutely nuclear in the G League, is the emergency frontcourt savior the Dubs desperately needed after their injury list exploded into a full-blown disaster zone.
Warriors Add Frontcourt Help After Horford Injury Al Horford of the Golden State Warriors looks at the LA Clippers bench at Chase Center on March 02, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Getty Images
Just hours after veteran big Al Horford hobbled off the floor with a right calf strain in Friday’s brutal 127-117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors pounced. Steve Kerr confirmed the strain and made it clear Horford is going to miss time — so they went and grabbed the only available 7-footer who just dropped 36 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.
That’s right — the same Omer Yurtseven who torched the G League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday night, going 15-of-21 from the field with three blocks and two assists while collecting his THIRD straight double-double. The man is a walking rebounding and interior scoring machine.
Golden State’s injury apocalypse hit a new low in that fourth straight defeat. Draymond Green was scratched last-minute with lower back soreness. Horford lasted just five minutes before the calf betrayed him. Seth Curry limped off in the second quarter with left adductor tightness. And second-year big Quinten Post rolled his left ankle.
“We’re going through it,” Kerr admitted afterward. “We’re about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember.”
And that’s before you even count the two ABSOLUTE STARS who have been missing for over a month: Jimmy Butler (tore his ACL in early January — done for the season) and Stephen Curry (lingering right knee injury since January 30).
Yurtseven Dominated in G League Before Warriors Callup Former Miami Heat center Omer Yurtseven returns to the NBA on a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors. Getty Images
The 27-year-old Turkish titan is fresh off a monster run. After spending the last two seasons overseas with Panathinaikos Athens (where he averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in EuroLeague play), he returned to the U.S., joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers earlier this month, and immediately started feasting.
Across 113 previous NBA games with Miami and Utah, Yurtseven posted solid 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per night — exactly the kind of physical, rebound-gobbling presence Golden State needs right now to stop the bleeding.
Yurtseven Brings NBA Experience to Warriors This isn’t some random rookie. The 7-footer has real NBA pedigree, size, and now fresh G League momentum that could make him an instant rotation piece.
Warriors Begin Road Trip in New York Yurtseven is expected to suit up immediately as the Warriors kick off a brutal six-game road trip Sunday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Bottom line: The Dubs were one more injury away from total collapse. They just pulled the trigger on the 7-foot Turkish TITAN who’s been a DOUBLE-DOUBLE MONSTER in the G League — and right now, he might be the ONLY thing standing between Steph Curry and a complete season disaster.
Golden State is down bad… but they just bought themselves some time with one of the most desperate — and necessary — signings of the year.