Bobby Dixon

Bobby Dixon or Ali Muhammed (born April 10, 1983), is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Turkish national basketball team.

For other people named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation).
Bobby Dixon
Dixon in 2018
No. 35 – Fenerbahçe Beko
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueTurkish Super League
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1983-04-10) April 10, 1983
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican / Turkish
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolSullivan (Chicago, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2006 / Undrafted
Playing career2006–present
Career history
2006–2007Saint-Étienne
2007BCM Gravelines
2007–2008Polpak Świecie
2008–2009Benetton Treviso
2009Le Mans
2009–2010ASVEL
2010Benetton Treviso
2010–2011Enel Brindisi
2011–2012JDA Dijon
2012–2015Karşıyaka
2015–presentFenerbahçe
Career highlights and awards

He holds Turkish citizenship since 2015, under name of Ali Muhammed.[1][2]

College career

After graduating from Chicago's Sullivan High School, Dixon played college basketball at Troy University. In his two-year career with the Trojans, he played in 59 games, averaging 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He was also named to the 2005–06 All-Sun Belt Conference First Team.

Professional career

Dixon started his professional career in France with Saint-Étienne Basket. In May 2007, he signed a contract with the French League team Gravelines until the end of the season. In the summer of 2007, he signed a contract with Polpak Świecie of the Polish Basketball League. He led the 2007–08 season Polish League in assists, averaging 5.1 per game. In the summer of 2008, he signed a contract with the Italian League team Pallacanestro Treviso. In February 2009, he moved to the France again, signed by Le Mans Sarthe Basket. In the summer of 2009, he signed a contract with the French League team ASVEL Basket. In 2010, he moved to the Italy, signed by Pallacanestro Treviso again. In the summer of 2010, he signed a contract with the Italian League team New Basket Brindisi. In the summer of 2011, he signed a contract with the French League team Dijon Basket.

Karşıyaka (2012–2015)

In July 2012, Dixon signed a contract with Karşıyaka of the Turkish League.[3] On February 9, 2014, he was named the MVP with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Turkish Cup final game against Anadolu Efes S.K..[4] He also helped to lead them to a Turkish President's Cup victory against Fenerbahçe in 2014. He was named to the All-EuroCup Second Team in the 2014–15 EuroCup season.[5] On June 19, 2015, he won the Turkish League championship with Karşıyaka, after beating Anadolu Efes by a series score of 4–1 in the Turkish League Finals. Dixon was named the Turkish League Finals MVP.[6]

Fenerbahçe (2015–present)

On July 21, 2015, Dixon signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahçe.[7] On 28 March 2016, he had a 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists performance against Beşiktaş, which marked his first triple double in the team.[8] That triple double, was the third in Turkish Basketball Super League history, after Mark Dickel had a 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists performance with Fenerbahçe against Galatasaray, in the 2002–03 season;[9] and Emir Preldžić had 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists with Fenerbahçe against Olin Edirne, in the 2010–11 season.[10]

In 2017–18 EuroLeague, Fenerbahçe made it to the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four, its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance. Eventually, they lost to Real Madrid with 80–85 in the final game.[11] Over 20 EuroLeague games, he averaged 7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, in decreased playing time over last season.

In April 2019, he signed a new two-year contract with Fenerbahçe, staying at the club until the end of 2020–21 season.[12]

Turkish national team

After receiving Turkish citizenship, Dixon became a member of the senior men's Turkish national basketball team. With the Turkish national team, he played at the EuroBasket 2015, and the Manila 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[13]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

† Denotes season in which Dixon's team won the EuroLeague

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2009–10 ASVEL Basket 101028.0.451.353.7502.63.11.4.011.59.8
2015–16 Fenerbahçe 282124.7.405.379.8953.33.61.0.110.811.4
2016–17† 342525.3.414.388.9062.73.11.0.011.410.7
2017–18 21611.3.468.462.7501.11.2.3.07.06.2
2018–19 342217.8.518.496.8671.72.2.6.09.38.9
Career 1278421.2.444.415.8662.32.7.8.010.39.6

Domestic leagues
Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006–07Saint-Étienne BasketPro B3431.9.393.358.7985.04.21.9.017.0
BCM GravelinesPro A331.7.340.2731.0006.04.01.7.07.7
2007–08Polpak ŚwieciePLK4232.8.498.358.7504.75.12.1.016.6
2008–09Benetton TrevisoLBA1731.5.418.381.8332.93.83.1.112.4
Le MansPro A1731.5.400.382.7824.75.82.1.015.4
2009–10ASVEL Basket1824.8.525.314.6823.33.41.6.010.4
Benetton TrevisoLBA929.2.500.375.7374.02.81.4.111.8
2010–11Enel Brindisi2930.6.455.321.7804.32.92.0.012.6
2011–12JDA DijonPro A3031.0.447.326.7534.15.11.6.112.4
2012–13KarşıyakaBSL3329.8.421.402.7444.54.71.2.115.3
2013–143532.4.485.349.7663.54.71.3.114.0
2014–154233.3.478.387.8383.84.51.9.017.3
2015–16FenerbahçeBSL4225.1.448.379.8322.83.61.1.012.8
2016–173522.5.480.363.8212.53.11.2.09.9
2017–183615.1.480.390.8951.42.1.7.06.4
2018–193821.2.530.440.8372.42.3.8.010.2
Career 46084.457.457.805.8663.71.6.112.6

Personal

In June 2015, Dixon received a Turkish passport and citizenship, which legally changed his name in Turkey to Ali Muhammed.[14][15]

References
  1. Ali MUHAMMED (TUR).
  2. ALI MUHAMMED Turkey.
  3. "Karşıyaka lands Bobby Dixon". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
  4. "Pinar Karsiyaka beat Anadolu Efes to win Turkish Cup". Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  5. "Dixon named to All Eurocup Second Team". Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  6. "TBL playoffs: the MVP is Bobby Dixon". Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  7. Fenerbahce Ulker adds playmaker Dixon
  8. "Fenerbahçe 100-80 Beşiktaş Sompo Japan". Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  9. Bozkurt K. Yılmaz. "Fenerinbahçesi: Triple Double yapacak diye not düşüyorum..." Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  10. "Olin Edirne 78-83 Fenerbahçe Ülker". Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  11. "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  12. "Fenerbahce Beko extends Bobby Dixon's contract for two more years". eurohoops.net. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  13. Ali MUHAMMED (TUR).
  14. Turkish passport for Bobby Dixon-Muhammad Ali Archived June 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Bobby Dixon gets Turkish passport and becomes Ali Muhammed". Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
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