Şebnem Kimyacıoğlu

Şebnem Nehazat Kimyacıoğlu (born June 14, 1983) is a Turkish-American former professional basketball player. She is an alumnus from Pinewood High School in California and graduated from Stanford before returning to Turkey.

Şebnem's sister, Yasemin Kimyacıoğlu, is also a former basketball player.

Early life and high school career Kimyacıoğlu was born in 1983 in Mountain View in California. She grew up in a Turkish community in California. Her parents, Kursat and Fusun Kimyacioglu, came from Turkey in 1980 when her father, an electrical engineer, was recruited to a Silicon Valley semiconductor company. They would spend summers in her mother's hometown of Alanya to connect with their culture.

Kimyacıoğlu began playing basketball in her elementary years, playing against her male classmates. When she was in the fourth grade, a teacher noticed her skill and recommended to her parents that she join a team. In high school, she joined Pinewood School's varsity team. With her, they won four Central Coast Section Division V titles. She played for them for a season and a half. Newlin's husband, an assistant coach in Turkey, encouraged her to try out for Galatarasay, as they needed non-foreign players. In the Euroleague semis, they upset the defending champion UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi In 2016, Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi (YDU) convinced Kimyacıoğlu to unretire and play for them. YDU was a team based in Northern Cyprus that was in a conflict zone featuring Cypriot Greeks and Cypriot Turks. She joined the team as it related to work she wanted to do in the future.

National team career In 2016, Kimyacıoğlu made the Turkish national basketball team roster. They qualified that year for the 2016 Rio Olympics, only the second time in Turkish women's basketball history.

Legal career When Kimyacıoğlu suffered an injury in 2008, she used her recovery time to begin studying law at Santa Clara University. When she resumed playing basketball, she would practice law during the off-season.

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