James Metecan Birsen (born April 6, 1995) is a Turkish-Irish professional basketball player for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he primarily plays at the power forward position, but he can also play as small forward, or even as centre in small-ball lineups.

Professional career Fenerbahçe (2011–2015) Birsen grew up with the Fenerbahçe Ülker juniors team and he made his debut with Fenerbahçe during the 2011–12 season. On 26 August 2014, he was loaned for a season to Olin Edirne, later renamed as Eskişehir Basket.Olin Edirne confirmed Metecan's loan dealMetecan to set Olin loan Then Olin Edirne relocated to Eskişehir as Eskişehir Basket. Over 23 Turkish League games played in the 2014–15 season, he averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Anadolu Efes (2018–2019) On 12 June 2018, Birsen was announced by Anadolu Efes, where he signed a 2-year contract.

Karşıyaka (2019–2021) On July 17, 2019, he has signed 1-year deal with Karşıyaka of the Turkish Super League.

Return to Fenerbahçe (2021–2026) On June 29, 2021, Birsen signed a three-year (2+1) deal with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League and the EuroLeague, returning to the club after six seasons. On May 30, 2023, he renewed his contract through 2026.

Beşiktaş (2026–present) On July 3, 2026, he signed with Beşiktaş of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).

Turkish national team He has been member of the Turkish Under-16 and Under-18 national team. He won the bronze medal at the 2010 European U-16 Championship.

Career statistics

EuroLeague EuroLeague profile

| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14 | style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe | 8 || 1 || 5.5 || .286 || .000 || .500 || 1.1 || || .4 || .1 || 0.6 || 0.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19 | style="text-align:left;"| Anadolu Efes | 9 || 1 || 3.9 || .600 || .333 || || .4 || .3 || || .1 || 1.4 || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2021–22 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"| Fenerbahçe | 14 || 0 || 7.9 || .250 || .222 || .333 || 1.2 || .3 || .1 || || 0.9 || 0.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2022–23 | 28 || 3 || 7.7 || .345 || .323 || .667 || 1.5 || .3 || .1 || .0 || 2.0 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"|2024–25† | 2 || 0 || 3.2 || .500 || || 1.0 || 2.0 || || || || 2.0 || 2.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2025–26 | 1 || 0 || 1.2 || 1.000 || .000 || 1.000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 3.0 || 5.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 62 || 5 || 6.4 || .429 || .289 || .600 || 1.2 || .3 || .1 || .1 || 1.5 || 1.2

Basketball Champions League

| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 | style="text-align:left;"| Karşıyaka | 14 || 7 || 21.8 || .432 || .300 || .800 || 5.5 || .9 || .4 || .1 || 6.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 14 || 7 || 21.8 || .432 || .300 || .800 || 5.5 || .9 || .4 || .1 || 6.4

FIBA Europe Cup

| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 | style="text-align:left;"| Karşıyaka | 14 || 10 || 22.4 || .427 || .300 || .786 || 5.4 || 1.9 || .7 || .5 || 8.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 14 || 10 || 22.4 || .427 || .300 || .786 || 5.4 || 1.9 || .7 || .5 || 8.7

Domestic leagues † Denotes seasons in which Birsen won the domestic league {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011–12 || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBL || 2 || 2.7 || .000 || .000 || || .5 || || || || 0.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13 || style="text-align:left;"| İstanbul BB || style="text-align:center;"|TB2L || 17 || 12.6 || .478 || .250 || .613 || 3.6 || .6 || .1 || .1 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13 || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBL || 6 || 4.4 || .556 || .333 || .500 || .7 || .3 || .2 || || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2013–14† || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBL || 27 || 10.7 || .488 || .382 || .613 || 1.8 || .6 || .3 || .0 || 4.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15 || style="text-align:left;"| Eskişehir || style="text-align:center;"|TBL || 22 || 13.7 || .419 || .182 || .667 || 1.9 || .7 || .3 || .1 || 3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16 || style="text-align:left;"| İstanbul BB || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 27 || 13.7 || .455 || .351 || .581 || 3.0 || .5 || .4 || .1 || 4.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17 || style="text-align:left;"| İstanbul BB || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 22 || 16.7 || .427 || .333 || .690 || 2.6 || .6 || .4 || .1 || 5.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 || style="text-align:left;"| Sakarya BB || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 25 || 25.6 || .432 || .171 || .706 || 6.1 || 2.0 || .8 || .1 || 8.3 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2018–19† || style="text-align:left;"| Anadolu Efes || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 35 || 13.0 || .435 || .352 || .818 || 2.7 || .7 || .4 || .1 || 4.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 || style="text-align:left;"| Karşıyaka || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 23 || 22.2 || .473 || .329 || .632 || 4.8 || 1.6 || .7 || .1 || 9.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 || style="text-align:left;"| Karşıyaka || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 32 || 23.3 || .430 || .360 || .692 || 5.4 || 1.3 || .4 || .1 || 8.9 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2021–22† || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 41 || 16.3 || .449 || .300 || .780 || 2.9 || .9 || .5 || .0 || 5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23 || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 22 || 22.2 || .446 || .397 || .548 || 4.9 || 1.1 || 1.0 || .1 || 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2023–24† || style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe || style="text-align:center;"|TBSL || 17 || 9.1 || .276 || .091 || .286 || 2.1 || .4 || .1 || .1 || 1.1

Personal life He was born to a Turkish father and an Irish mother.Attention to James "Baby" Metecan Turkish youngsters

References

External links

Metecan Birsen at draftexpress.com Metecan Birsen at eurobasket.com Metecan Birsen at euroleague.net James Metecan Birsen at fiba.com Metecan Birsen at tblstat.net