Didem Akın

Didem Akın — Biography

Didem Akın, known by the nickname "Dido", is one of the best-known names in Turkish women's basketball. She was part of Fenerbahçe's 1998-99 championship side that ended Galatasaray's eight-year hold on the title, and after injury ended her playing days she stayed on as the club's team manager. She won 14 league titles in total and wore the national jersey 99 times across the junior and senior sides.

In Ankara she was cut from the TED Ankara College trials for being too short, then made the team on a second attempt, helped by her coach Mustafa Erkoç. She moved to Istanbul with her family in 1985; at Istanbul University she won her first league title, and while studying at ITU she won a university championship as well. After five seasons at İÜSK, two at Deniz Nakliyat and five at Galatasaray she joined Fenerbahçe in 1998; she played in the EuroLeague Women seven times, was often top scorer and made the All-Star team. With the national team she won the first Mediterranean Games silver medal. A torn anterior cruciate ligament ended her career in 2001-02.

She was an assistant coach at the 2005 Universiade and from 2005-06 Fenerbahçe's manager; after a year with Migros and the junior national team in 2007-08 she returned to Fenerbahçe, where the team reached the 2013 EuroLeague Women final and finished runner-up in Europe. She left the club after the 2018-19 season.